Willow and Leather - A Cricket Blog

3+1 (or) 2+2

2011-02-26T12:35:00.001-08:00

There is a lot of speculation going around on whether India would go in with a 3(Seamers)+1(Spinner) combination or with a 2(Seamers)+2(Spinners) combination for tomorrow's game against England in Bangalore. Given that Ashish Nehra is (supposedly) still injured, it comes down to a toss up between Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla (or R Ashwin).

Sreesanth's performance in the opening game might actually make it an easy decision for Dhoni. Also, considering how the spinners fared in the warm-up game at the same ground, it should really be a no-brainer. KP's well-documented history with Yuvi and left-arm spinners in general would tempt Dhoni to gamble throwing the new ball to Yuvi. But throwing pies accurately in the power-play overs might be too much of an ask and India would be better off opening with a specialist spinner instead.

Harbhajan Singh is needed to control the middle overs, so his overs shouldn't be wasted up-front. Ashwin's supporters might argue that Dhoni has used him a lot with the new ball in the IPL and that experience should make him the front-runner for the second-spinner's spot. But Chawla would be quietly confident of his chances because he is a better attacking option and his spells in the warm-up games have made up inch ahead of Ashwin in the eyes of everyone that matters.

Sri offers support for Sree

2011-02-20T17:43:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Javagal Srinath (Hindustan Times)

Everyone has had a go at Sreesanth for being expensive. He did go for plenty but we need to look at the reasons for his less-than-impressive performance.

First, we must understand his frame of mind. When the World Cup 15 was announced last month, Sreesanth wasn’t a part of the team. He was a late inclusion and it looked that he couldn’t prepare well. Between the severe sense of rejection and sudden acceptance, his preparation went for a toss. I gather he was also not an original choice in the playing eleven.

With the swing and pace he was trying to generate, it looked as if he wanted a wicket off every delivery. We should not read too much into his performance on Saturday.

I do agree with Sri - the team would like to treat it as just an off game for one player and move on. However, it seems unlikely that Sreesanth might get to play in the next few outings. The next couple of games for India are in B'lore and there is a good chance that Dhoni might go in with a 2+2 attack for those games. Given what happened in the warm-up game against Australia and given that India would be playing England and Ireland (with due respect to the spin-playing abilities of Straussy and his men) next, playing Piyush/Ashwin instead of the third seamer sounds like a good plan. I don't think this is really the end of the tournament for Sreesanth. In my opinion, he is still the best early-wicket-taking seam option that India has in its squad and the bowling coach would need to ensure that Sreesanth is ready to deliver when the time comes.

Balaji Rao - Who?

2011-02-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Express India (from 2001)

I hope our boys will halt the winning streak of the Australians,’’ said the National senior cricket selection committee chairman Chandu Borde, who watched the conditioning camp here today.
‘‘I am optimistic about the series against the Aussies. Our players are being shaped up for the contest. The camp will give them the required physical and mental strength. The boys are being prepared in the right course by coach John Wright.’’ he said.
He expressed concern about leg-spinner Anil Kumble not playing in the series. When asked if the the focus would be on the Tamil Nadu leg-spinner WD Balaji Rao, the selection panel chief said ‘‘Balaji Rao is being monitored closely. He has been doing well.’’

That was the closest that WD Balaji Rao ever came to in terms of playing international cricket for India. The series that the linked article relates to is the one where Harbhajan Singh became the next big Indian spinning star (the series is also known as the 281 series). A bit of luck here and there and it could so easily have been Balaji Rao modeling for Royal Stag and asking - Have I made it large?

Things have changed a fair bit for him in the last decade. He now plays international cricket for Canada and is back in the sub-continent to prove a point or two.

Team India - Preview

2011-02-18T23:55:00.000-08:00

Sachin "Is there such a thing as 6th time lucky?" Tendulkar
There is something about these world cup games that gets the best out of Tendulkar. He has had 5 stabs at it and he knows that this is practically his last attempt. His role in this tournament would obviously be to bat through the innings. If he can do that at least 3 times in the next 7 weeks, he would go past 100 international tons. If those 3 efforts come in the quarters, semis and the finals, he would have realized that elusive dream of his.

Virender "Need to bat long" Sehwag
Viru wants to curb his merry ways a bit at the start of the innings and look to bat long. There is no doubt that if he bats 40 overs, it would mean that the opposition has signed-sealed-delivered the game to India. He looked a bit confused in the warm-up games about how he should go about building his innings. But for someone with the most uncluttered mind in the business, he shouldn't take long to sort it out. His running between the wickets was a bit iffy during the warm-up games, but hopefully his feet would be all warmed-up for the first game against B'desh. Not sure how his shoulder is holding up, but it would be great if he could bowl a few overs in games where the main bowlers get tonked.

Gautam "How do I show Kohli that I deserve to be at No.3" Gambhir
Virat had made the No.3 slot his own with some consistent performances. It was always a known fact that Virat had to move (down/out) when the big three returned. But Gambhir, the Gambhir that he is, would want to show one and all why he is the best man to do the job at that slot in this tournament. I must say that he looked pretty good in the warm-up game against NZ, especially after he reached his 50.

Virat "Sorry Suresh" Kohli
I'm glad that he is going to be in the starting XI. Dhoni would be looking to be fluid with the batting order for slots 4 to 7. But Yuvraj's indifferent form with his batting would give Kohli the opportunity to bat at No.4 in most games. He may not know how to hide a hickey, but he does know more than just a thing or two about keeping the scorer busy during the milking overs.

MS "Gotta do this for SRT - Well ofcourse, for Gary too" Dhoni
The world is his oyster. He was not his usual self with the bat in SA, but that ton in the last warm-up game should give him a lot of confidence going into the tournament. He is at the top of his game when it comes to captaincy and those skills of his could just be the differentiating edge that India has over the other contenders. I'm not too concerned about the lack of the reserve keeper in the squad. Virat can do the job for a game or two if Dhoni catches a niggle.

Yuvraj "Thank GOD for my bowling skills, thank GOD there is no Dmitri" Singh
India desperately needs Yuvraj to bring his A game to all departments. Right now he is struggling a bit with the bat. If not for his bowling skills and his uncanny ability to pick wickets, he would have struggled to justify keeping Raina out of the starting XI. All it takes is one knock in the middle to get back into the groove and I sincerely hope that knock comes in early in the tournament.

Suresh "Hmm.. after all the sacrifices I made batting down the order" Raina
You have got to feel for the bloke. Batting down the order is never easy and he has done exceptionally well for India (especially in the sub-continent) in the No.6 slot in recent times. But there are only so many batsmen that a team can play. He is still one of the best finishers in the game and he might get a chance based on how the middle order fares in the opening games.

Yusuf "Ask them to bounce me out on these pitches" Pathan
Those 2 ODI centuries that he scored in recent times have completely transformed Pathan's stars. Before those 2 knocks, he was just another fringe player. Now no one in his right mind would argue against why he is considered a must pick. If the top order does its job right, he might not have to play a major part in this campaign. But with him at No.7, any target the opposition sets would now seem like a Pathan-able target.

Harbhajan "Has Swann made it large?" Singh
He has sounded pretty wise in some of his recent interviews. He still sounds as cocky as he was as a 17 year old, but he sure does put in a lot more thought into his bowling these days than he ever did. India go into the tournament with their frontline spinner in good form and that augurs very well. For India to nurture any hopes of winning the cup, Harbhajan needs to deliver and deliver large.

Zaheer "Just need 7 injury free weeks in a row" Khan
On days that Zaheer is fit, he lifts himself and the others in the attack to a very happy place. He has this amazing knack of seizing the moment (hate to sound like Shastri) and making it his own. All the Indian fans would be hoping that their best fast bowler stays supremely fit for the next 7 weeks.

Munaf "I'm the second best seamer in the squad" Patel
He is supposed to provide the "steady" option in the seam attack. He is done well in the recent past and has shown that he has remarkable control over line and length. But on the sub-continent pitches where anyone can be taken to cleaners at anytime, he would have to be his guiling best from the start to the finish. He has worked hard on his fitness and fielding levels, but is still a level below what you would expect from an international fast bowler.

Ashish "Seriously, I'm the second best seamer in the squad" Nehra
Nehra has done enough in the past 18 months to deserve a spot in the squad. But he has had a few ordinary outings in the last few games. His rhythm is just not there. He is still the one who put in the best bowling performance from an Indian in WC games. But that was 8 years ago and it is amazing how fans still hope that he would be able to dish out at least one such performance in this year's edition. It is also a troubling thought that if both Ashish and Munaf play together, Dhoni would have one too many fielders that he would have try and hide in the field.

Shantakumaran "MUST not irritate anyone - especially team mates, umpire and fellow Indi Commandos" Sreesanth
He was supposed to be just cheering for the team with his music-band. But fate intervened, poor Praveen got injured, and Sree is now up for a shot at WC glory. He may currently be the fourth in the pecking order, but I would pick him in the playing XI (ahead of both Nehra and Munaf) just for his ability to bowl some real jaffas in the first 10 overs. He may end up not being a part of the first few games. But I've a feeling that fate would intervene again - Sree would play against Pakistan in the later stages, Misbah would play a scoop straight into Sree's waiting hands in the final over and all would be forgotten (including those ridiculous loser gestures).

Ravi "Hope the captain shows the same faith that he showed in the IPL" Ashwin
Ashwin would be called upon if the captain feels he needs to use more spin in the initial power-play overs. Based on how the seamers fare in the opening games, Ashwin's chance to showcase his skills would come sooner or later.

Piyush "Don't really need any hugs to perform" Chawla

Piyush might have started off the campaign as the third choice spinner in the attack. But his more than impressive performances in the warm-up games have ensured that he is now second in line. Dhoni is likely to go with with the "3 seamers + 1 spinner" attack in most games. But if the idea is to just go in with the 4 best bowlers in the team, Piyush might get a look-in.

Opening with the youngest and the oldest

2011-02-16T17:13:00.000-08:00

In today's warm-up game against England, Canada opened their batting with John Davison (yeah that bloke - the one who once held the record for scoring the fastest ton in WCs) and Nitish Kumar. John is 40+ and is the oldest player in the tournament. Young Nitish at 16 is the youngest player in this edition.

The difference in their ages (24) has to be some sort of record for opening pairs (provided the partnership is retained when the real matches get underway). Incidentally, their other opener Hiral Patel is also a good 20 odd years younger than John Davison.

Virat vs Suresh (or) Virat vs Gautam?

2011-02-13T02:00:00.000-08:00

Virat has shown time and again what he is capable of doing at the top of the order. You would think that the warm-up games would be used to gauge how he goes when he walks in after the 35th over. I would have liked to see Yuvraj come in at the fall of Gambhir's early dismissal.

Is this an indication that Raina is the preferred man to bat at No.6 in the starting line-up on Feb 19th? It could also be mean that there is a likely jostle between Virat and Gambhir for the No.3 slot. It really would be a shame if India cannot find a way to fit in the second best batsman in the world (based on current ICC rankings) somehow in that lineup.

8 days to go..

2011-02-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

I have been away from this space for a long time for various reasons. But with 8 days to go for the biggest spectacle of all in World Cricket to commence, I'm giving myself an opportunity to get back into the cric-blogging scene (if there is such a term).

willow.tv has the 2 Indian warm-up games listed in its live line-up - so, the live action starts this weekend. Here's to hoping that the next 8 weeks would provide some memorable moments and also in the process help me revive my penchant for dishing out mundane (yet prolific) pieces on the progress of MS and his men in blue (or red?).

Gambhir <=> Intense, Steady, Deep

2011-02-03T12:28:00.001-08:00

Courtesy: Hindustan Times

What are the changes you foresee if India win the World Cup?
I believe the citizens of our country are left with very few things to have faith in. The past year has been one of scams and we are now reeling under double-digit inflation. Getting a child admitted to school is like climbing a mountain; Delhi is called the rape Capital. Religion is still being used to push political agendas and then we have our quota of natural mishaps. Amidst all this if cricket can provide some respite, we'd have done our job.

No wonder his folks named him Gambhir

A fortuitous debut

2010-02-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Cricinfo

Kris Srikkanth's selection panel has, through most of its tenure, stuck with players who were introduced to the national pool by the previous two selection panels. You cannot blame them for riding on the success that the pairing of Dhoni and Gary Kirsten has scripted in the last two years in Test cricket, but they need to work out the pros and cons of every decision they make.

There is no doubt Saha is happy and excited about his debut - though doubtless he would have preferred different circumstances and a different role. Spare a thought, though, for those young aspirants who have been shouldering responsibilities for their respective states piling up big runs - the likes of Manish Pandey, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and other good batsmen who are bound to feel distraught at not being considered despite their domestic success. Their time will probably come but it could have been sooner rather than later.

Well, no one seems to be saying it - so, let me do the honors. The simple (and the only) reason why Dinesh Karthik was not chosen ahead of Saha as the backup keeper is because there were already 2 players from Tamil Nadu guaranteed of a slot in the starting XI. And the selector from the East Zone would not have been welcome back home if he had allowed even the backup keeper to be picked from the same team from the south. As a result, Karthik ended up playing in the Duleep Trophy final and notching up a couple of 150+ scores while Saha (don't have anything against him) is getting to reap the rewards of being in the right place at the right time. Raina, Pujara, Kohli and Pandey (not necessarily in that order) would no doubt be feeling really let down by the selectors.

How dumb can you get?

2010-01-31T15:43:00.000-08:00

First, he does this..

and then he goes and says this..

“There is no team in the world that doesn’t tamper with the ball. My methods were wrong. I am embarrassed, I shouldn’t have done it. I just wanted to win us a game but this was the wrong way to do it.”

So dear Mr. Afridi, please do enlighten us all - what are the "right methods" of tampering a cricket ball?

49 more to go

2009-11-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

About 40 odd minutes to go for the start of the 6th ODI at Guwahati. There was a lot of buzz before the previous game about Sachin reaching 17000 ODI runs. How come I don't see anything in the news media now about him being 49 runs short of 30,000 runs at the international level?

"Paddy did it"

2009-09-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Courtesy: Cricinfo

"The leaked article was compiled by Paddy Upton and provided information for the players on relationship between sexual activity and sports performance. I never wrote the article and read it for the first time two days ago. It has never been and never will be part of team strategy," Kirsten said. "I have been deeply disturbed by these false allegations and wish to focus my attention on helping Team India have a successful Champions Trophy."

The Indian media did what the Indian media does best. There is no surprise in that. Gary should have known this by now. There is no point being disturbed by such allegations. This would definitely not be the last time that someone would ask him to resign.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Day 1 - Snippets

2009-09-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

While the buzz is on in India for tomorrow's clash against Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy, the inaugural season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy - also known as the "100% desi" (no franchises, no foreign exports) Indian Domestic T20 Championship - quietly got underway today. Now how many of you knew that such a tournament existed? There were 3 games, all South Zone games, that were played on the opening day. While the mainstream media is busy covering the Champions Trophy, I'm gonna try and bring in some snippets from the SMA Trophy

Game 1: Andhra vs Hyderabad

Result: Hyderabad won by 10 runs.

Hyderabad's Innings: Hyderabad was asked to bat first and made 176/5. Ambati Rayudu, playing in his first "recognized" T20 game after leaving ICL, scored 53 off 34 balls. Seems like he hasn't been signed by any IPL team yet - he is too classy a player to not to be signed yet. Wicket-Keeper Abhinav Kumar made a better than 2runs-a-ball half century. When was the last time you came across a wicket-keeper who couldn't bat? Paidikalva Vijay Kumar, who made a fairly decent impression for Deccan Chargers in their dismal IPL-1 campaign, was taken to the cleaners and ended up with none for 45 off his 4 overs.

Andhra's Innings: Venu Rao made no score while his kid brother Gnani Rao made 71 off 41. For Hyderabad - Arjun, Absolem and Pragyan bowled well for a combined returns of 5 for 73 off their 12 overs.

Game 2: Kerala vs Tamil Nadu
Result: Tamil Nadu won by 49 runs

Tamil Nadu's Innings: Murali Vijay won the toss and elected to bat. It is interesting that Badri isn't the captain. R Satish who captained the Chennai Super Kings in the ICL would have been another choice to lead in this form of the game. Vijay made 54. He has been a bit off-color after his impressive international test debut. He needs to have a good domestic season to keep the national selectors interested in him. Arun Karthik scored a half-century as well (btw, did you guys know that Arun made his List-A debut playing for Badureliya Sports Club in the SriLankan Domestic League). Sreesanth, fresh off a reasonably successful stint with Warwickshire ended up giving away 37 off his 3 overs.

Kerala's Innings: The Kerala batsmen were never really in the chase. R Ashwin's off-spin yielded 3/16. Balaji was his usual economical self.

Game 3: Goa vs Karnataka
Result: Goa won by 10 runs (first real upset of the tournament)

Goa's innings: Goa won the toss. Swapnil Asnodkar was his merry self at the top of the order and raked up 71 off 48 balls. S Sriram, back from a stint with the ICL made 20 off 16. Anil Kumble who is using this tournament as a practice-run for the Champions league was fairly expensive - going at about 10 an over off his full quota. Stuart Binny ended up with impressive figures of 2/26. He is one player who really benefited from playing in the ICL. His stock his risen considerably after his impressive contributions for the Hyderabad Heroes.

Karnataka's innings: After having just played the KPL, you would think that Karnataka should have easily chased down the target. Young Manish Pandey was the top-scorer with 44. Uthappa, coming in at No.4 hit a couple of sixes, but got out in the 16th over with still 50 runs more to get. In the end, they fell short by 10 runs.

Some Bravo Trivia

2009-06-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

There is a very strong likelihood that both Dwayne and Darren would be playing alongside each other in the upcoming ODI series against India. Name which other Santa Cruz brothers-duo represented the West-Indies together in an international game.

Show/Hide Answer

Jeffrey Stollmeyer and Victor Stollmeyer played a test match against England in 1939

"Bravo - Double Impact" in store for India?

2009-06-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

Dwayne Bravo single-handedly won the game against India in the Super-Eights of the T20 WC (the game which was the beginning of the end for the defending champions). Now it seems that India would have to counter 2 Bravos in the upcoming one-day series. Dwayne's younger brother is in the team selected to play the first couple of games. Darren, a left-handed batsman played in the last under-19 WC in Malaysia that Virat Kohli and co. won. In the one game that the WI played against India in that tournament, Darren was the top-scorer for WI and he was run-out for 43 by Ravindra -I'm-sorry-I-couldn't-get-out- Jadeja. Hope Jadeja's first-hand knowledge about Darren would help formulate some plans to counter the lesser-known Bravo.

When the 4th M came to the party..

2009-06-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

On what is supposedly the happiest day of the year, the smiling assassins from the emerald isle brought a great deal of joy to their supporters. Everyone knew that it would be hard to get Malinga, Mendis and Murali away, but who would have thought that young Mathews would bowl a dream first over - 3 wkts in 5 balls in the first over and the Windies never recovered from that triple blow. What a tournament this former under-19 captain is having - some top-order wickets, some late-order runs and some outstanding fielding efforts. Shah Rukh must be wondering why he (and Mendis) didn't play like this in the IPL.

On a side note, there was some joy for the people of Kolkata too. Dada made his debut as a commentator for ESPN and I must say had a fairly impressive first day.

Duminy does a Jadeja

2009-06-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

There will be a lot of talk in the media about how Albie was wasting his time whiling away in the dugout while Duminy was scratching around in the middle. But as young Ravi Jadeja will tell you, it just isn't easy to get out, especially when you really want to hit out or get out. In T20 games like these, it might just be prudent for a player to retire himself out of the middle if he cannot get out. You might see a few future T20 captains trying to do that - forcing a player who is struggling to get a move on to get retired out (The last time I saw this happen in an international game was in a game between SL and BNG)

KKR's new coach

2009-06-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

Courtesy Cricinfo :

Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL team that finished last this season, are understood to have decided to remove John Buchanan as their coach and have begun sounding out possible replacements.

Buchanan, Kolkata's director of cricket operations, and Joy Bhattacharya, the team director, refused to confirm the development but the former Australia coach said he would comment on the issue within the next 48 hours. Steve Waugh and Dav Whatmore are among the possible replacements, as well as some Indian candidates, who have been contacted by franchise officials.

Steve Waugh would be a tempting pick, given his success as a captain and his strong Kolkata connection (via udayan). Dave Whatmore on the other hand is a safer bet, given his work at the NCA and his experience as an international coach. I would go with Dave for the simple reason that he understands the sub-continental cricketer (a lot better than Steve).

... thooch.. lets try again..

2009-04-18T03:18:00.000-07:00

Just before the coin was about to be tossed, Dhoni called time-out. He rushed off, grabbed a pen and made a quick change to the playing-eleven on the team-sheet. Something on the pitch gave him second thoughts? I don't know. T20 is all about quick thinking and the WC winning captain knows a thing or two about making decisions on a spur. Poor Ravi Shastri. Because of the false start, he had to welcome the crowd all over again.

A very disappointed Kaif

2009-04-18T02:59:00.000-07:00

No, not Katrina. She would be cheering for Mallya's team. It is that less-glamorous name-sake of hers that I'm talking about.
Courtesy: DNA India

It is learnt that on Tuesday afternoon Kaif got the call from the team management. When Warne dropped the bombshell that he "wasn't in their scheme of things", Kaif was stunned. The seven players, who were told to pack their bags, were called individually for an interaction with Warne and Co.

According to sources, Kaif was upset on two counts. He couldn't hide his disappointment when he realised that he would play no part. Also, he couldn't understand why the Royals captain-cum-coach did not tell him earlier that his services would not be required.

"If Kaif was informed ahead of the transfer window that ran from December 22 to January 22 that he may not make the final squad then he could have considered playing for another team. Seven other squads were looking for players," the source added

Kaif does have a reason to be disappointed.If he wasn't really in the RR's scheme of things, he should have been told about it ahead of the transfer window. There are much less talented Indian players in the other teams and it is kinda sad that one of the most prolific Indian domestic players wouldn't be on view in this edition. I know that there are some people who would tag him as a long-duration-game player, but I do think he has more to offer in the other forms too.

Eye Pee Yell

2009-04-18T02:41:00.000-07:00

Less than an hour to go for the first game of the new season. It does seem like the weather would have a say on today's games. Keep your gloves crossed. It is going to be one cracking tournament. I just can't wait to see Dhoni and Sachin walk out to test their probability skills with the toss.

Broad Revenge

2008-11-13T19:57:00.000-08:00

Gambhir has been in terrific form of late. Modern players realize the importance of cashing in when they are in a rich vein of form. So it is understandable that Gambhir was hurt and disappointed for being banned for the Nagpur test. There is no room for any sort of elbow-action on the cricket field and Broad Sr. did the right thing in handing out the ban.

India is 43/0 in 7 overs at Rajkot and young Stuart Broad has already been taken out of the attack because Gambhir seems to have decided to let his bat take some broad revenge.

Fab-4 in the Top-6

2008-10-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

During the course of Laxman's unbeaten double-century knock, he leap-frogged a couple of places (over Azhar and Vishy) in the all-time list of top Indian run-makers in Test Cricket. He is now in the 6th place and that means that the "Fab-Four" now occupies 4 slots in the top 6 Indian run-makers. The Indian middle-order will have this distinction for just one more test - so cherish it while it lasts..

Lawson gets his wish.. almost

2008-06-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

"I would like to score a 150-run win over India on Tuesday."
Geoff Lawson, the Pakistan coach

Almost there. Missed by just 10 runs (albeit the other way) - would be nice to know what he would like to score in the next game.. How about a 10-wkt win?

Bracelet impact?

2008-06-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

Courtesy: ANI

A small fabric bracelet is England cricketers’ latest secret weapon that has boosted their performance levels.

The Trion-Z ‘magic’ bands are being tried by the team after cricketers James Anderson and Stuart Broad said they were huge fans of the bracelet.

Using incredibly high-powered magnets, the bracelets are medically proven to increase blood flow around the body, improving concentration levels and rates of cell-regeneration.

Stuart Broad and James Anderson registered their career best test scores with the bat. Anderson followed it up with a career-best bowling performance. Guess, it is time Bracewell bought a few bracelets for his wards.

Search for the next reality Cricket Star

2008-06-06T04:53:00.000-07:00

Courtesy: Samachar/PTI

Australian spin legend Shane Warne will oversee the selection trials of the third season of a nationwide talent hunt, the winner of which would get a contract with the Rajasthan Royals team in the 2010 Indian Premier League.

'Cricket Star Twenty20' was launched by Royals team owners Emerging Media on Thursday.

Warne, who is the captain-cum-coach of Rajasthan Royals, and Emerging Media Chairman Manoj Badale unveiled the Cricket Star Twenty20 Season 3 trophy.

The boys chosen through the hunt will be a part of the Cricket Star Academy and will also have the chance to interact, train and play with the Rajasthan Royals team.

If you haven't played first class cricket and if you haven't represented India at the under-19 level and if you aren't Lalu and Rabri's son and if you really want to get an IPL contract as a player, this is what you need to be participating in.

Keralathinte Sreesanth

2008-06-06T04:35:00.000-07:00

Courtesy:Express India/Agencies

A book on Indian pace bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, titled Keralathinte Sreesanth written by Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi's Sports Magazine editor K Viswanath, was released in Kochi.

Do you think Harbhajan Singh was approached to write the "ForeWord" for this book? Would be nice if it has (dont think it is there though) a chapter on the impact of the "slap" and how it transformed Sree from a clown to a serious ambassador of his state.

A great day for Delhi Cricket

2008-01-20T04:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday (Jan 19 '08) turned out to be a great day for Delhi cricketers. The Ranji team emerged victorious in the domestic trophy finals after 16 years. Viru Sehwag and young Ishant Sharma played key roles in India's historic win at Perth. And also their other 19-year old star, Virat Kohli led the Indian under-19 team to a test-series win against South Africa in South Africa.

How can they?

2007-07-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

Courtesy: Rediff

"How can your selectors drop a bowler of Harbhajan Singh's quality? He has taken wickets in a heap against the best sides. That is the hallmark of a great bowler," a surprised Saqlain said.

What Saqlain (the new Brit) is trying to say here is this -"How can the Pakistani selectors drop a bowler of Saqlain Mushtaq's quality?".

India's tour of Bangladesh '07: Test Series - Grades

2007-06-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

Part 1
Part 2

India's tour of Bangladesh '07: ODI Series - Grades

2007-06-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Part 1
Part 2

England's next best thing?

2007-06-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

James Alexander Russell Harris

Hope the Welsh teenager goes the Fredalo.. sorry (I never uttered that word).. the Freddie way.

The Ranji-Duleep Trophy

2007-05-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

Read it here.

Looking Ahead: The likely five

2007-05-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

Read it here.

Whatmore? Say Who?

2007-05-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

Kapil Dev, who once asked, "Who is John Wright?", now asks, "Who is whatmore?".

Paaji, you ask too many questions..

Whatmore is a SriLankan born Aussie cricketer, who coached a world-cup winning SriLankan team and is now very likely to coach your home team. What more do you want to know ji?

Coach-cum-Umpire

2007-05-23T07:06:00.000-07:00

Courtesy: Express India

Satrajit Lahiri is aware of what the word ‘coach’ exactly means. The 39-year old former Ranji Trophy batsman — he played for Tripura from 1991 to 1998 and turned up for East Zone in the 1996-97 Deodhar Trophy — recently earned a double distinction unique in eastern India’s cricket history.

He became the state’s first ever Ranji Trophy elite panel umpire to also complete the National Cricket Academy’s (NCA) coveted Level III coaching degree, at Bangalore. The twin distinction apart, Lahiri also boasts of the Level III coaching degree that he picked up from the English & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) last year.

When Lahiri is umpiring, how hard would it be for him to restrain the coach in him? If the batsman gets beaten outside the off-stump and the bowler starts appealing, would the umpire first tell the batsman that he needs to move his feet a bit and then turn to the bowler and say that it is not-out? If the bowler is chucking, would Lahiri correct the bowler's action right there and then tell him that it is a no-ball? If he feels that the fielding captain is not attacking enough, would he ask the skipper to place a slip and a foward-shortleg?

I know Lahiri is a professional and he would know exactly how to separate the umpire from the coach, but it does make you wonder. Doesn't it?

Blogging for AOL India

2007-05-18T03:36:00.000-07:00

I've signed up to blog for AOL India's new cricket blog. My first 2 posts are up for reading - 1. a la Pietersen, 2. World Cup 2007: Ten Most Enjoyable Pieces Of Action.

Life comes at you fast

2007-05-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

The folks at Nationwide should seriously consider asking Manoj Tiwary to appear in their ads. Everything seemed to be going Manoj's way until he went and injured himself just before his international debut. He is supposed to undergo surgery (apparently there is some controversy regarding the surgery - check this link) pretty soon and from the looks of it, might have to be out of action for about 4-8 weeks.

Of blogging-breaks and sharing-birthdays..

2007-05-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

I realize that I haven't been posting as regularly as I possibly can. I sincerely hope that this is just a temporary slump in form and that I would be able to make a decent comeback to prime-form blogging pretty soon. I really don't need to be "rested" or "dropped" to rediscover my bearings.

On a personal note, I became a father this week. I've been told that becoming a father, makes you more responsible and focussed in life. I do hope that this is true and the renewed focus would get reflected both at work and also at making inane blog-posts. Ever since the doctor told us that the due-date would be some time during the last week of April, my wife and I wished the kid would be born on April 24th. The thinking was that if he has to be a Taurean son of a cricket-blogger, then why not share his B'day with Sachin Tendulkar. I narrowly missed being born on the same day as Kapil Dev and I've blogged earlier about feeling bad about it during my growing years. The caring parents that we are, we didn't want our son to feel the same. April 24th came and went and there was no sign of him stepping out of his cozy pavilion. He leisurely ventured out eight days later. He probably believes in doing things on his own terms or probably isn't going to be a big SRT fan - only time will tell. All we know for now is that he shares his Birthday with Brian Charles Lara. May 2nd also happens to be the birthday of David Beckham and Satyajit Ray. I don't know how much thrilled I would be if he becomes as popular a soccer star as Beckham or as creative a director as Ray (btw I never understood his movies), but I sure would be a lot happier if I get to see him cover-drive with a flamboyant touch and an exaggerated back-lift. What more can a father ask?

Indian Bowling Coach - Prasad vs Sekhar

2007-04-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

Chappell's support staff included some quality professionals, but it lacked a bowling coach. It could be argued that had there been a good bowling coach, Irfan Pathan wouldn't be in the quagmire that he finds himself in right now. The same could be said of Harbhajan Singh.

It took one dismal world cup performance to finally convince the BCCI to appoint separate coaches for bowling and fielding. Thirumalai Ananthanpillai Sekhar, the chief coach at the MRF Pace Foundation would have been my choice for being the bowling coach of the Indian Cricket Team. But Venkatesh Prasad is not a bad choice at all. He has been coaching the junior teams over the past few years and has been doing it really well. Bowling coaches are usually fast-bowling coaches - the reason probably being that modern day teams have very few slow bowlers in their ranks. Sekhar has been instrumental in moulding the careers of quite a few fast-bowlers of this generation, but doesn't really have much to offer to the spinners. Prasad holds the slight edge here (not because he used to bowl quite a few slow deliveries towards the end of his career) because he has a bit of experience at wholistic coaching. Another reason could be that Prasad (given his age) is being seen as someone who could handle the mantle of being the full-coach at some point down the line.

Whose son?

2007-04-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

Courtesy: Cricket Next

Tamil Nadu’s left arm spinner Vidyut (three for 14), son of former Indian leg spinner and TV commentator Laxman Shivaramakrishnan, K Vasudeva Das (two for 20) and U Mahesh (two for 29) then bowled a tight line and length to restrict Haryana to 111 all out off 19.4 overs.

41 year old Laxman wouldn't be too thrilled to know that he has a 25 year old son. This is just another case of bad journalism. For the uninitiated, Vidyut is actually the son of Venkatraman Sivaramakrishnan, the former Tamil-Nadu player.

Dilhara robbed of a MOM award

2007-04-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

England lost to Sri Lanka in a last-ball thriller yesterday. The young Bopara and the old Nixon hustled together a run-a-ball 87 run partnership for the 7th wicket and brought England very close to victory. 12 were needed off the last over, 9 came off the first 5 deliveries - Bopara had to face the last ball with 2 runs required to share the points. Call it nerves or call it a tactic, Dilhara Fernando (the giant with the baby voice) ran in hard and went through his motions without actually releasing the ball. He went back to the start of his run-up, took a few deep breaths and bustled through all over again - this time he did release the ball - elementary line and length - Bopara missed and the ball disturbed the furniture behind the batsman and then ran away to the boundary.

Ranjit Fernando, the easily excitable commentator from the Emerald Island overlooked the disturbed stumps and commented (yelled rather) something on these lines -- "Oh itz a 4.. Bopaara.. Oh its bowled.. I thought it hit the bat and went for a 4". Well, he doesn't fail to amuse you (if you want to call it a torture, I wouldn't blame you), does he? I'm really looking forward for the day when someone like Sangakkara or Jayawardene gets to represent Sri Lanka behind the micro-phone.

Coming back to the game, didn't understand why Bopara won the MoM award. Agreed, he brought England back into the game and without him the game would have ended much earlier. But he didn't win it for them, did he?. Dilhara, on the other hand picked up 3 crucial wickets at crucial times and won his team a couple of points. As far as I'm concerned, he was robbed off a maiden world-cup MoM award.

Murali-ed, Vass-ed, Malinga-ed, Fernando-ed and Jayasuriya-ed

2007-03-23T17:38:00.000-07:00

Courtesy: Cricinfo

A banner that read "Murali-ed" probably got it just right.

Add Vass-ed, Malinga-ed, Fernando-ed and Jayasuria-ed to that.. That really was an outstanding fielding performance.

I spent about 5 years of my early childhood in Sri Lanka and do have a great affinity towards anything remotely connected to the Emerald Island. No prizes for guessing which team I would be rooting for from now on.

20-20 WC draw

2007-03-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

The 20-20 World Cup matches will be played at Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban from September 11 to September 24, 2007.

Group A: South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh.
Group B: Australia, England, Zimbabwe.
Group C: New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Kenya.
Group D: Pakistan, India, Scotland.

Pakistan and India are grouped together - seems like the officials did not want to take any chances this time and end up again in the scenario where there would be no Indo-Pak game.

Bob Woolmer, Rest in Peace

2007-03-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

I really don't know how to put what I'm feeling inside in words. Bob held one of the two (Greg C being the other) most difficult, demanding and stressful coaching jobs in the whole wide world of sports. He is no more and the mere knowledge of that fact is bound to deeply hurt and sadden all those genuine lovers of the game. When the Pakistan team assembles together for its next practice session, there would be no Bob to give them catching practice and fielding drills. When Pakistan plays Zimbabwe in its final group match on Wednesday, there would be no Bob Woolmer, sitting with his laptop and peering through the LCD for a solution to the team's problems. He will not be there to be happy for them if they do well or to share their grief if they don't.

After the Irish skipper hit that winning six yesterday, the cameras zoomed towards the Pakistan dressing room - a grim looking Bob Woolmer, stood up packed his laptop and walked away. That was the last time, most of us saw him alive. He has finished his innings and walked away to a better place - a place from which he would never return. Probably, a place where his effigy wouldn't get burnt, where his motives and intentions would never get doubted and where he would finally relax and rest in peace..

We'll miss you, Bob. May your soul rest in peace and may your family and friends have the strength and courage to deal with this tragic loss.

The million dollar over

2007-03-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

Courtesy: Cricinfo

29.1 van Bunge to Gibbs, SIX, Violence! Gibbs charged down the track and hoicked it over long on.
29.2 van Bunge to Gibbs, SIX, Murder! Floated on the leg and middle stump line and Gibbs sends it soaring over long-off.
29.3 van Bunge to Gibbs, SIX, Carnage! Flatter one this time but it makes no difference to Gibbs. He just stands there and delivers. This one also has been sucked over long off
29.4 van Bunge to Gibbs, SIX, Wah Wah! Low full toss and guess where this went Yep. A slap slog and it went over deep midwicket! He is going to go for 6 sixes in this over!
29.5 van Bunge to Gibbs, SIX, Short in length, on the off stump line and Gibbs rocks back and swat-pulls it over wide long off. SImply amazing. What a batsman. This is pure violence!
29.6 van Bunge to Gibbs, SIX, He has done it! One-day record. No one has hit six sixes in a row. GIbbs stands alone in that zone. And the minnow bashing continues! Full and outside off and bludgeoned over deep midwicket

This is the first time that anyone has ever scored 6 sixers in an over in international cricket. By doing this Gibbs has not only worked his way into the record books, but also has won the Johnnie Walker Sixes Challenge. The tournament sponsor Johnnie Walker had announced earlier this week that it would be offering $1 million to Habitat for Humanity housing projects for the first batsman to hit six sixes in one over at the World Cup.

It was absolute carnage at Bassaterre - 198 runs were plundered in the last 13 overs with South Africa finally finishing at 353/3 in 40 overs.

World Cup 2007: Day 3 - Ireland vs Zimbabwe - Notes

2007-03-16T03:54:00.000-07:00

You would be forgiven if you thought that St. Patrick's day came a couple of days early this year. The green brigade cheered and celebrated every move that their team made and that vociferous support was largely instrumental in the Irish team pulling off a dramatic tie. Zimbabwe was cruising along quite well and at one stage required just 19 runs off 40 odd balls with 5 wickets in hand. Brendan Taylor then got runout at the non-striker's end and Zimbabwe started to lose the momentum dramatically. 9 were needed off the last over, they managed 8 off the first five but Stuart Matsikenyeri (who played really well for his 73) just could not get the ball away for a single. It was a fiting end for an entertaining game - both the teams dropped too many chances and played badly enough to lose. Ireland just did slightly better to hold their nerves when it really mattered. Jeremy Bray won the MOM award for carrying his bat earlier in the day.

Complete the progression

2007-03-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Dennis Amiss (ENG), Glenn Turner (NZ), Alan Turner (AUS), Clive Lloyd (WI), Imran Khan (PAK), Kapil Dev (IND), Dave Houghton (ZIM), Gary Kirsten (SA), Aravinda De Silva (SL), John Davison (CAN), Feiko Kloppenburg (NET), ------- (IRE)

Fill in the Blanks..

What can I do for you Mr.Jayawardene?

2007-03-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Courtesy: The Hindu

Sachin Tendulkar might not recognise Lionel Cann. Should he wish to hit in the air in the league game against Bermuda on April 19 at Port of Spain, he'll be well served if he acquaints himself with Cann's clock.

"I can honestly say that we have a player called Lionel Cann," says Bermuda skipper Irving Romaine. "He loves India. He has named his child India. His biggest player is actually Tendulkar. Right now I'm hoping Tendulkar does not hit a catch to him because he will probably drop it to watch him bat."

This piece was in The Hindu a few days back. What Irving Romaine hasn't said here is that big Leverock has the same soft corner for Mahela Jayawardene that Cann has for Sachin. He has dropped Jayawardene twice already (Mahela was on nought the first time) today. Mahela is currently batting on 84 and there are about 9 more overs to go. A hundred is there for his taking - whether he reaches there or not, Mahela is right back in form (thanks to Leverock). Mahela hadn't scored a 50 in the last 19 games and this knock should do his confidence a world of good.

Update: Mahela just got out for 85 - caught brilliantly in the deep by Kevin Hurdle; if only Leverock was stationed there..

World Cup 2007: Day 2 - Kenya vs Canada - Notes

2007-03-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

Kenya showed yet again why they are considered by many to be the best non-test playing team in the competition. They had lots of luck last time to reach the semi-finals and would not have any free points to take this time. But they do have the combination to compete well on these Carribbean pitches. The spin trio - Tikolo, Varaiya and Kamande picked up 5 wickets for 78 in 29 overs between them. (Kamande started his international career as a seamer - got reported for chucking and now plies his trade as a spinner. Maybe Shabbir should consider doing this - thay way even his injury problems would go away) And then Ouma, Tikolo and the young Mumbai born Mishra put on a good solid batting performance to complete an easy victory.

This was Canada's best chance to add a victory in the competition, but they just had a very very ordinary day in the field.

World Cup 2007: Day 2 - Australia vs Scotland - Notes

2007-03-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

Ricky Ponting scored yet another hundred. It was his 56th international hundred, his 23rd in the shorter variety and his 4th in the World Cup. He smashed 5 sixers in the process and now holds the record for the highest number (24) of 6s in World Cup history. He now has one 6 more than Sourav Ganguly. Sourav holds every record (even the kiddy ones that he made in Kindergarten) of his very dearly and would be keen on regaining this particular one before the end of the tournament.

Gilchrist and Hayden would rue missing an opportunity to add a hundred each to their respective stat-sheets. Clarke and Hussey missed out. Hodge made a run-a-ball 29 while Watson made an unbeaten 1.5-runs-a-ball eighteen. But the man who really hogged the limelight towards the end of the innings was Brad Hogg - 40 runs off 13 scoring shots. 53 runs came off the last 3 overs.

Except for Tait, all the Aussie bowlers on display were pretty economical. Even Brad Hodge had a decent bowl with his off-spinners and picked up his maiden international wicket. When Symonds comes back into the side, Hodge or Watson has to make way for him. Glenn McGrath showed some good rhythm and added 3 scalps to his credit. Tait bowled at a great pace, but was taken for some runs by Haq and Smith. Bracken was his usual steady self (wish someone would tell him how funny he looks in that girlish headband of his).

Scotland would be disappointed that they couldn't last 100 overs against the best team in the business. Colin Smith's half-century, the 2 wickets that Haq took and their supporters in kilts were their lone bright spots of the day.

Diversity

2007-03-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

More trivia from the world of the minnows..

Of the eleven that Canada fielded today, 2 were born in India, 2 in Pakistan, 2 in Guyana, 1 in Barbados and 1 in Uganda. And of the 4 warming the benches, 1 was born in Jamaica, 1 in St.Kitts and 1 in Barbados.

Scottish Trivia

2007-03-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

Question: This qualified physical education teacher made his ODI debut for England at Sharjah in 1997 and disappeared from the international scene after representing England just 9 times (all of those appearances came in the 1997-98 season). He was the coach of the Namibia team during the 2003 World Cup. At the age of 37, he is making his world cup debut as a player today.
Answer: Dougie Brown

Question: This current team-mate of Dougie Brown also has the experience of representing England at the international level, but not in the limited overs variety. He is currently playing in his second world cup.
Answer: Gavin Hamilton

World Cup 2007: Day 1 Notes

2007-03-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

Pakistan lost. They had a couple of good warm-up games and they were expected to come trumps over the home team, who had a dreadful warm-up outing against India. But the 2 most unpredictable teams in the competition did not fail to disappoint - never ever trust the current form of these 2 teams coz there is no bigger lie than that.

I'm sure Inzi would like to draw a parallel between today's game and Pakistan's first game in the '92 world cup (Inzi's debut world cup game). Pakistan lost to the West Indies by 10 wkts on that occasion. They managed just 1 win in the next 4 games, but somehow rallied together after that to register one of the greatest comeback victories in the championship history. But the difference here is that Pakistan must now win the next 2 games to make it to the next round - one bad game against the minnows and they would all be going home to join Shoaib and share his "in the hell" feeling.

For the Windies and all their fans in the Carribbean this is a great start. All the batsmen, except for Gayle and the birthday boy Ramdin, got starts. Sarwan looked busy, Samuels looked in imperious touch and then Smith played a typical flamboyant Carribbean cameo to boost the total past 240. The bowlers followed it up with a very disciplined performance - conceding just 2 wides. All of them picked wickets - with Smith and Bravo picking up 3 wickets each.

For Pakistan, it wasn't really that bad a day at the office. There were definitely a couple positives in the bowling department - Gul and Rao Iftikhar made the fans forget that Shoaib and Asif were missing. Hopefully Gul would last the tournament without getting injured and Iftikhar would stick to the line and discipline that he showed today in the remaining games.

Blogger's Cricket Blog Contest

2007-03-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

Google India is hosting a cricket-blog contest for all India based blogger users. Click here to participate. Winner gets to be on TV with Krish Srikkanth.

I don't live in India, so don't really qualify..

Beware of the minnows

2007-03-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

There has been quite a bit of talk about the presence of lowly ranked teams in the World Cup. Some say it makes the world cup boring while some say that the best way of making these teams better is by making them compete against the very best. But the fact of the matter is that in each of the last 4 world cups, there has been atleast one big upset during the initial stages of the tournament.

2003: Kenya beat SriLanka (and thanks to forfeits, made its way all the way to the semis)
1999: Bangladesh beat Pakistan, Zimbabwe beat India and South Africa
1995-96: Kenya beat West Indies
1991-92: Zimbabwe beat England

The 2007 edition has been structured in such a way that a lowly ranked team needs to stage just one upset in the initial group games to advance to the Super-8s stage. On current form, Bangladesh is probably the team with the best chance of causing an upset. I just hope it is not on the 17th of this month.

des rangila rangila des mera rangila

2007-03-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Courtesy: Malaysia Sun

The calypso and the beats gave way to a surprise... a dance sequence on a popular Hindi number, done to Bollywood's synchronised perfection, which culminated the day's work. But the organisers are promising more.

The popular Hindi number that was performed was des mera rangila from the movie Fanaa. I must add that the dancers did pretty well (not all of them were of Indian origin). I'm sure that the next time a Bollywood producer lands in Jamaica for a song shoot, he wouldn't hesitate roping these girls in as back-ground dancers.

Tucking it in..

2007-03-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

Pix Credit: AFP

Meet Dean Minors, the Bermuda wicket-keeper. Notice how he neatly he has tucked his keeping pads under his trousers. You do need fairly loose flannels to do that (not something that you would see the likes of Dhoni wearing). Not sure what advantage this gives to the Keeper, but it sort of does take out the chance of the ball getting stuck in the crevice (not sure, if that is the word that I should use) between the pad and the knee. hmm, or may be not..

X and Y

2007-03-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

11th Jan 1992 was the day this stylish left-hander made his first international appearance. Let us call him X. X was just 19 then. He walked in with the score at 35/4 to join another prodigious 18 year old at the crease. After facing 13 unconvincing deliveries, X was given out LBW with just 3 runs against his name. Let us call the bowler who got him out Y. It was Y's eighth ODI game and he ended up with figures of 5/31 and the Man of the Match award. Poor X had to wait more than 4 years before he could appear again in an ODI. By that time Y had appeared in 63 ODIs for the West Indies and was done playing for them.

Who is X? and Who is Y? No bonus points for naming the prodigious 18 year old.

Hint: X and Y would be running into each other this Sunday during the opening ceremony of the ICC cricket world cup.

21 yards in Netherlands?

2007-03-06T07:43:00.000-08:00

Young Mark Jonkman started off the proceedings in the warm-up game between India and Netherlands by bowling a fairly longish no-balls-filled first over. He was so way off the mark on a couple of occasions that Steve Bucknor called him up and showed him where the crease was and where the youngster's front foot was landing. It does make you wonder if the pitches in the Dutch-land are a yard shorter in length.. (reminds me of the street games, where the pitch lengths were altered to suit the bowler's run-up)

Sujith Somasunder retires..

2007-02-22T12:46:00.000-08:00

Sujith Somasunder announced his retirement on wednesday at the Chinnaswamy stadium. (You can't be blamed if you thought he had already retired). His two illustrious karanataka team-mates, Kumble and Dravid were by his side during the announcement and this is what they had to say about him.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Kumble said that Sujith, perhaps deserved more opportunities at the international level. "I think he is one of those unlucky players who did not get enough chances. And he also played his early matches against the likes of Allan Donald, McGrath and Gillespie. It was great playing alongside him for the Karnataka team since the early 90s. He was a crucial part of our three Ranji Trophy title-winning teams in the late 90s. I wish him the very best," Kumble said.

Dravid and Sujith's friendship has endured from their under-19 days. They even made their Ranji debuts together against Maharashtra at Pune in 1991. And the admiration was evident in Dravid's speech. "Retirement is a bitter-sweet moment. It means the end of a cricketing career but it also means a time to sit back and cherish those old memories.

"I remember Sujith and I spending time together on the field and then on trains during our under-19 days, long journeys, unreserved compartments, staying in dormitories in Cuttack, small hotels in Kolkata. He has been a friend and we will stay friends for a long time. I am sure he will contribute back to the game and I am sure he will be able to handle the challenge of a life beyond cricket with ease," Dravid said.

Ardent followers of Karnataka cricket would fondly remember the 2 ODI games that Sujith got to play for the country in 1996 - India fielded a total of 6 Karnataka players (Sujith, Dravid, Kumble, Prasad, Srinath and Joshi) in both of those games.

The new 15% lighter uniform

2007-02-20T08:13:00.000-08:00

Pix Credit: AFP

Courtesy: Cricinfo

Amidst typical hype and razzmatazz, in a bright show of power-point presentations and video capsules, Nike and the Board of Control for Cricket in India unveiled the Indian team's new kit. Ever since the board tied up with Nike, the wheels of commerce and innovation have been turning, and the latest offering is a team uniform that is lighter - 15% by weight and about the same in terms of colour.

From a deep sky blue, Team India will now be clad in powder blue. You'd think clothing was a fairly straightforward business but with patented technologies, and jargon like dri-fit, engineered mesh, sublimation technology flying about thick and fast, it would have been easy to have been fooled into thinking you were attending a science seminar.

.. hope this would help the player's mobility in the out-field and between the wickets improve by 15% (or atleast 0.0015%)

Smith and Co. - take a bow

2007-02-18T05:34:00.000-08:00

Australia have stepped down from their top spot in the ICC ODI rankings list after suffering their 4th successive loss (fifth in 6 games). The South Africans are the new No.1 team. Graeme Smith's men have had a great season in the limited overs variety and are deservedly the best team in the world on current form.

Courtesy: Cricinfo

The rankings do have little more than just bragging rights at stake: the side that leads the table on April 1 stands to win US$175,000, with US$75,000 going to the second-placed team. With the World Cup starting in the Caribbean on March 13, there is still time and opportunity for Australia to regain top spot ahead of that cut-off date.

Australia has 6 games to play before April 1st while South Africa has 4 to play. Both the teams are in the same pool (Group A - St. Kitts) in the World Cup and would be facing off each other on March 24h. Don't miss the action - this is going to be the most evenly contested tournament in the history of world cup cricket.

"No Dhoni ? Seriously.. No Dhoni?"

2007-02-09T08:31:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Harish Kotian, Rediff

Wadekar also feels that though places must not be taken for granted, Virender Sehwag, if back in form, could just make the difference.

"India require a player like Sehwag who can get you those quick starts. A blazing start lays the perfect foundation for players like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar," he added.

He said either Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Dinesh Karthik should be included, since Dravid can take up wicketkeeping duties in case of an emergency.

"I would certainly prefer Karthik, since, I think, he is a good wicketkeeper and is in good batting form."

Ajit Wadekar has served Indian Cricket well in various capacities and his name will feature prominently in the chapters of Indian Cricket History. But when he suggests that he might not pick Dhoni in his WC squad of 15, you can't help but wonder if all is well with the 66 year old's brain cells. You shouldn't be entitled to say foolish things just because you celebrate your birthday on April Fools' Day.

Karthick has done enough this season to deserve a spot as a reserve batsman. He made good use of the limited opportunities that came his way. Raina and Kaif didn't do the same and that is the sole reason why they are currently not in the side. And as far as reserve keepers go, I really don't see Dravid keeping wickets again. If for some reason both Dhoni and Karthick are indisposed, young Uthappa could do the job.

Irfan makes a case for himself..

2007-01-24T06:13:00.000-08:00

The selectors would be announcing the squad for the next 2 ODIs against the West Indies tonight and Pathan's name would definitely figure prominently in their discussions prior to the announcement. He probably hasn't done enough to suggest that he is back to full-form, but sure has presented a good case for himself. After picking 3 wickets in the first innings of the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Mumbai, he triggered a dramatic Mumbai top-order collapse in the second innings. Mumbai lost their first 5 wickets for nothing with Pathan picking up three of those (Rakesh Patel accounted for the remaining 2). Kukreja, Jaffer, Shah, Muzumdar and Sharma were all back in the pavilion for ducks within the first 20 balls of the innings. It remains to be seem if this would be enough for Pathan to get back into the national squad.

"Mr. Tamil Nadu Cricket" retires

2007-01-13T04:32:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Sid Vaidyanathan/Cricinfo

c Martin b Bhoite 0. Seven balls, thirteen minutes, offbreak padded away, bat nowhere in the picture, umpire raises finger, end of a 15-year career. It wasn't the best way to bid adieu, but it was probably the most symbolic. For nearly a minute, Sridharan Sharath stood transfixed, glaring at the umpire and repeated a question that's haunted him through his career: 'What did I do to deserve that?'

8390 runs at a 50+ average in a career spanning 15 years - and not a single chance to prove his credentials at the highest level. Mr. & Mrs. Luck just didn't seem to have bothered to knock on his bat atleast once. W&L will always remember Sharath as "Mr. Tamil Nadu Cricket" and wishes him the very best in all his future endeavors.

Can you please keep the chatting down a bit?

2007-01-09T12:52:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Amrit Mathur, for the Sportstar

With 27 teams competing in two grades of Ranji the competition is so lopsided it is difficult to evaluate performances and distinguish good players from the ordinary. Also, given the general neglect, it will require much time and effort before this first-class structure becomes a finishing school that prepares players for international cricket.

Sadly, while there is scant evidence of any serious effort to mend things, there are enough signs to suggest nobody is really concerned. In a Elite game in Delhi, the umpires called off play — for bad light — around noon (!) and then disappeared from the ground. On another occasion the square leg umpire was merrily chatting on his cellphone, during play. The striker, disturbed by the chatter, walked up to him and politely requested that he speak a bit softly!

.. and we wonder why there hasn't been a single Indian umpire worthy enough to be Venkatraghavan's successor in the ICC Elite Panel.

Keep or Field..

2007-01-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Harsha Bhogle for Express India

Dinesh Kaarthick is a very fine young cricketer and a wholehearted team man. His batting in the second innings at Durban was a revelation for both teams because he showed that if you ignored the pitch, it could indeed be ignored. Smith and Pollock were later to do the same and take the game away from India. In the first innings he batted four hours and showed he had a wise head, not just the excitable, jack-in-the-box one we had seen all along. And I loved the way he fielded anywhere on the ground.

It is rare for a wicketkeeper to possess a good throwing arm and yet he ran out a man from long off and would be a live-wire inside the circle in a limited overs game. India must find room for both, him and Dhoni, and a World Cup squad would be incomplete without either.

Kaarthick has done enough in SA to suggest that he deserves a world-cup spot. If the team does field both Dhoni and Kaarthick, I would like to see Kaarthick keep wickets and let Dhoni man the outfield. With due respect to Dhoni's keeping skills (he hasn't really missed much lately behind the wickets), Kaarthick is much more acrobatic and definitely a better bet when it comes to standing up to Kumble.

Brett Lee in Asha's latest album

2006-12-29T11:46:00.000-08:00

Brett Lee, who plays guitar for the Six & Out Band (the members of which include Brett's brother Shane and other NSW cricketers) now features in Asha Bhosle's latest album. Here is the song, courtesy YouTube.

I'm impressed..

On the beach..

2006-12-29T09:11:00.000-08:00

Pix Courtesy: Bishan Samaddar (Varkala Beach, Kerala)

That is a beautiful image taken on the sands of the Varkala Beach in Kerala. Please do keep Asad Rauf out of there. He would take the light-meter out and call off play in no time. Playing in the dark could be really dangerous to the umpires, you know. The batsmen these days use really heavy bats and given the ferocity with which they bludgeon and given the ultra poor reflexes of the aging umpires, someone could get killed. Agree with me Mr. Rauf? On a serious note, you have to give credit to the umpires for being consistent with the light-readings on all the days (of the Durban test).

cricket + youtube + orkut

2006-12-22T05:26:00.000-08:00

Check CrickeM out. Lots of cricket based personal videos, some good ones and lots of goofy ones (Karnataka's opener Barrington Rowland and national selector Venkatpathy Raju also feature in a couple of videos)

1, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600

2006-12-22T05:05:00.000-08:00

700th is on the way..

Noticed the fairly distinct changes in hair-style over the years..?

Warnie - Duncan Fletcher's replacement?

2006-12-20T05:05:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Daily Telegraph

He liked the simple things like a pizza, a cigarette and a night at the casino.

He had pretty simple tastes. And he loved his music. In the rooms he would always have a full music system with him. I don't know about his tastes in music. Boney M was one of his favorites as was ABBA.

Warnie's announcement came as a bit of a shock but I think it is good that he has retired. He can take a step back and see where he is going and what the future may hold.

I wouldn't be surprised if they offer him to be the England coach but we need to keep him here. Down the track he should be involved in our spinning stars of the future.

With Shane Warne's retirement news leaking out a tad in advance, the former greats have already started choreographing the final ovation. Steve Waugh in the Daily Telegraph puts Warne way up there in the Cricket's Hall of Fame, second only to The Don and wonders if Warne would be offered the English coaching job.

Starring Mandira Bedi and Anil Kumble

2006-12-19T04:39:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: India FM

Indian leg spinner Anil Kumble will attest his acting skills on screen with a debut in yet another cricket-based flick Meerabai Not Out.

Produced by Pritish Nandy’s PNC (Pritish Nandy Communications) and directed by award winning Marathi director Chandrakant Kulkarni, the movie also stars Mandira Bedi in the lead along with Anupam Kher, Mahesh Manjrekar and Eijaz Khan. Mandira’s husband Raj Kaushal, who has earlier directed Anthony Kaun Hai, will be the line producer.

This is the second "cricketer in bollywood" announcement this month. Yuvraj in Love Story was the first. Unlike Yuvraj (and thank GOD for that), Jumbo would be playing a cameo and not as a main lead. With just a few more years of active cricket left in Anil's playing career, it is natural that he is lining up his options for his life-after-retirement. Guess, full-time acting isn't one of them (Director of a company like StumpVision sounds better)

Siliguri is in India and Potchefstroom is in South Africa..

2006-12-19T04:06:00.000-08:00

Harsha Bhogle, Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar try hard to get a few chuckles out of Sourav Ganguly in this interview after the third day's play at Jo'Burg.

It was in one of these after-day's-play interviews in Zimbabwe about over an year ago that Sourav first spilled the beans that it is not all too well between him and Greg. And after what he went through in the past year, he is pretty cautious about what he says to the media.

Also, watch the Blue-Billion Ad (it is in Hindi) that Sourav featured in while he was out in the wilderness. Here is the rough translation - "Forgot me? I used to feel bad and angry about what happened, why it happened and how it happened. I don't feel that way anymore. I'm trying hard to get back into the side and who knows, I might get another opportunity to wave my shirt in the air again. Whether I'm in the team or outside the team, I'll always say ooh aah India and support my mates in every single game. You do the same, my team mates will feel good about it. Wouldn't you listen to what your dada says?"

He hasn't exactly got to wave his shirt in the air again, but he sure will sooner or later if the team continues to perform the way they did (and he contributes to the team's success the way he did) in Jo'Burg.

When second choice means fourth choice..

2006-12-18T19:54:00.000-08:00

"Paul Adams is the only wrist spinner in South Africa with any sort of record but he has been brought in as the 15th member of the squad and I have no doubt he has some way to go to make the starting XI," - Haroon Lorgat

At the start of the series, Boje was picked as the first choice spinner with Adams next in line. After Boje announced his retirement, the selectors somehow realized that Adams wasn't good enough to make it to the starting XI. So they first approached Claude Henderson, who duly rejected their offer citing county commitments. They somehow finally managed to rope in Paul Harris as the new first choice spinner in the squad. But then why is Adams still in the squad, you ask?

The "Don't mess with me, Nellie boy" dance

2006-12-18T19:36:00.000-08:00

There have been quite a few visitors to the blog in the last couple of days - most of them reaching here by googling for "Sreesanth dance". For those of you who are still searching, here is the video clip from Youtube. Sreesanth has been fined 30% of his match fees, but thankfully it wasn't for these gyrations.

And this is what provoked him..
Courtesy: DNA

Sreesanth also disclosed what had transpired between him and Andre Nel which prompted him to break into a jig after hitting the lanky South African paceman for a six. “As soon as I walked in to bat, Nel said ‘I can smell blood, I can smell blood,” the Kerala bowler, who took a match haul of 8-99 to script India’s first Test victory in South Africa, was quoted as saying in Outlook magazine.

“Then after beating me, he said ‘You don’t have the fire, man. You should have a big heart to play. You are like a bunny to me.’ He turned back and said it again ‘You are a bunny man and I will get you next ball,’” Sreesanth recalled.

Nel changed the field for the next ball, moving the short leg fielder to deep square leg and telling wicketkeeper Mark Boucher that he would bowl a bouncer. “I am a fast bowler and was sure that he would bowl a length ball. I just took my chance and stepped out to connect the ball,” Sreesanth said.

“I guess I just could not control myself when I saw the ball soar over the boundary,” he said, referring to his impromptu dance as he saw the ball go for a six.

Of discipline and punctuality..

2006-12-17T15:17:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: DNA

Laxman, unbeaten on 42, and Sreesanth, chief wrecker with 5 for 40, were a little tardy in joining the team bus that was to take the players from their hotel Sandton Sun to the Wanderers, ten minutes away.

But the team rules cannot, apparently, be bent for anybody. And the rule, a team official says, is that if 8:16am is the time for the bus to leave, then even if the players are standing in the foyer at that point of time, they will not be allowed to enter the bus.
Greg Chappell wasn’t going to let discipline be compromised even for his overnight stars. So, the bus left without them and the duo hired a taxi that took about 10-15 minutes to pick up its illustrious customers

I'm all for discipline and punctuality. But can't help wonder if the coach would have done the same thing if the hotel was about an hour away from the ground. Would he have then risked having Laxman, the over-night batsman get timed out?

Dumb Dismissal

2006-12-11T04:02:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Cricinfo

Muralitharan was run out after completing a single which gave Kumar Sangakkara his century. His wicket ended the Sri Lankan second innings at 170, leaving New Zealand a 119-run target for victory, which they achieved for the loss of five wickets.

After grounding his bat to complete the run, Murali turned back to congratulate Sangakkara. But the ball had not been ruled dead allowing Brendon McCullum, the wicketkeeper, to whip the bails off.

McCullum did what he had to do and Murali ended up looking dumb. But what looks real funny for me in the whole process is Umpire Brian Jerling's gestures. The following clip will show Brian gesturing Murali to get back into the crease before the throw comes in. Surely, an Umpire can't do that..

Starring Yuvraj Singh..

2006-12-08T14:40:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Hindusthan Times

For all the avid cricket fans and the young ladies smitten by cricketer Yuvraj Singh's charms, there is a good news. The dude is now all geared to make his debut in Bollywood.

The macho man has decided to take off his career with veteran Prakash Jha's flick 'Love Story', which is an Entertainment One production.

Hope he doesn't do his own stunts and gets injured (again) in the bargain..

Simple solution to India's bowling problems at the death...

2006-11-29T04:49:00.000-08:00

.. get the opposition bowled out before the start of the 41st over..

Ganguly packed and at the airport?

2006-11-29T04:23:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Cricinfo

With a recall to the national team in the offing, Sourav Ganguly has prepared for a possible tour of South Africa by giving up the captaincy of the Bengal Ranji Trophy side. The national selectors meet in New Delhi tomorrow to pick the side for the three-Test series.

From the looks of it, Ganguly is all packed and already at the airport ready to board..

Name any sport or Geisha Yells

2006-11-28T11:18:00.000-08:00

The second Ashes Test starts Friday and after the drubbing that England received in the first test , it wouldn't be a real surprise if Monty Panesar gets to make his Ashes debut. The Aussies are going in with just one spinner, but Duncan Fletcher seems keen on playing both this left-arm slow bowlers at the expense of Jimmy Anderson. I just can't understand why Fletcher finds it that hard to drop Ashley. Giles did bat well in the first test, but that is not really what he is there in the squad for.

In case you are wondering why I chose such a bizarre title for the post, look deeper - "Name any sport" and "Geisha Yells" are anagrams for Monty Panesar and Ashley Giles. Sorry, solving too many cryptics lately..

Drastic changes for the test series likely?

2006-11-28T09:45:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Dileep Premachandran/Cricinfo

Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir and VRV Singh are likely to be named in the squad for the Tests when the selectors meet on Thursday and, with Rahul Dravid not certain to play in the opening Test, Ganguly could join VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar in the middle order for what is likely to be a tremendous test of India's batting resources.

I would like to think that Dileep wouldn't have written this if he hadn't had access to some insider information. Dileep thinks it is highly likely that Raina, Mongia and Pathan would catch the flight home after the ODI series and also adds Badrinath's name to the list of middle-order contenders.

If you go by Dileep's article, you end up with the following the team:
Openers: Sehwag, Jaffer, Gambhir (Jaffer is definitely the first-choice - Gambhir should just be a reserve option)
Middle-order: Sachin, Laxman, Sourav, Dravid (and Badrinath as cover for Dravid)
Wicket-Keepers: Dhoni, Kaarthick
Spinners: Harbhajan, Kumble
Seamers: Munaf, Zaheer, Sreesanth, VRV Singh (and Agarkar if 7 bowlers are picked)

Given Sehwag's indifferent form, the selectors would definitely look to pick a reserve opener - and Gambhir fits the slot. So, if the selectors decide to use the 7-7-2 division, Badrinath misses out and if they go for the 8-6-2 version, either Agarkar or VRV would miss out.

Laxman recalled..

2006-11-27T10:40:00.000-08:00

VVS Laxman, who was originally deemed physically challenged to play a part in India's ODI plans has been asked to fly in as a replacement for the injured Dravid. It needs to be seen if he would be able to land in time for the next game on wednesday. Laxman has had an ordinary start to the current domestic season - scores of 15, 50, 3, 45 and 31 (Duleep and Ranji games) are quite modest for a player of his stature. The team's morale is at its lowest ebb and Laxman is the kind of player who relishes in situations like these. The last time he featured in colored clothing for India was in August last year in the Indian Oil Cup, which incidentally was Chappell's first tour as coach. Zaheer and Kumble are already back, Laxman is making his way back - add Ganguly, Nehra and Balaji to the squad and you have pretty much the same set of players from the pre-Chappell days..

Good to Great in 365 days

2006-11-27T07:44:00.000-08:00

Just about an year ago, Mohammad Yousuf ~~Youhana~~ was one of those umpteen good gifted players on the test circuit. He had scored 4391 runs in 61 matches at a fairly decent average of 46.71. One year on (and what a sensational year it has been) and Yousuf has stormed his way into the list of greats. He scored 1887 runs during this period at a little less than 105.00 per innings with the help of 9 hundreds (five 190+ scores). His overall average has shot up almost 10 points and now stands at 56.05. The critics would owe it to some good batting wickets and some really ordinary bowling attacks - which is probably true to some extent, but even with all that it does take some effort to generate such consistency.

Yousuf's scores in his last 19 innings - 223, 173, 65, 126, 0, 97, 17, 14*, 202, 48, 38, 15, 192, 8, 128, 192, 56, 191, 102.

Steyn stains India's tour opener..

2006-11-16T13:23:00.000-08:00

10-3-22-5

Victims:

Wasim "the specialist with the GOOD technique on bouncy pitches" Jaffer - 5
Sachin "the one who MUST score big in every game that India plays" Tendulkar - 5
Mahendra "the one with the additional responsibility of batting up the order" Dhoni - 7
Suresh "the prodigy who can neither prod nor dig at the moment" Raina - 0
Rahul "the designated saviour" Dravid - 79

Aussie squad for the first Ashes Test

2006-11-16T07:40:00.000-08:00

Squad: Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Michael Hussey, Shane Watson, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait.

One out of the three - Clark, Johnson and Tait - will play. I would pick Johnson for the sake of sheer variety.

The 664 run partnership record broken

2006-11-15T13:00:00.000-08:00

The record now stands at 721.

Courtesy: DNA

Two under-13 batsmen, Mohammad Shahbaz Tumbi and B Manoj Kumar, put together an unbeaten world record partnership of 721 runs in a one-day match conducted by the Hyderabad Cricket Association.

The partnership resulted in a 700-run win for St Peter’s High School, Bowenpally, as their opponents, St Philip’s High School, were bowled out for a measly 21.

Tumbi made 324 (116 balls) and Kumar made 320 (127 balls). The runs came in just 40 overs with the help of an awful lot of extras - 77. Spare a thought for the bowling side...

Kumble and Ballmer

2006-11-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: DNA/Dhananjay Khadilkar

Speaking about India, the Microsoft chief predicted a ‘personalised television’ revolution, which would move ahead of cable television viewership in coming years.

While Ballmer was at his flamboyant best, Anil Kumble’s poise and computer knowledge came in for a lot of praise. The record breaking leg-spinner, known for his unerring line and length, was sharp and precise while showcasing his company’s new software Matchcast.

Kumble, who is the director of Stump Vision, a cricketing software company, said that Matchcast was developed using Windows Vista, Windows Presentation Foundation and Office 2007. To be launched in January 2007, Matchcast allows the user to watch a cricket match live and have access to relevant data at the same time. Kumble also demonstrated a product that allows the user to maintain a scorebook of cricket matches.

I did take a peek at Matchcast. It is pretty cool. I liked the analysis section; it has all the usual stuff - the Manhattan, the wagon-wheel, the line-length chart etc. It would be interesting to see how they market it. People who watch cricket on www.willow.tv would tell you how cool the interactive scorecard feature is. It seems like Matchcast would add to that experience.

A few ScreenShots from Matchcast:

It is all about the moustache

2006-11-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

The VB Commericials for the Ashes:

Competing for places..

2006-11-08T07:42:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Paul Collingwood's column on BBC

We are all quite realistic about who is competing for places.

With the wicket-keepers it is Chris Read against Geraint Jones. With the batsmen, Ian Bell and Alastair Cook and I are fighting for two spaces.

There are no niggles between us. If anything, we drive each other on. It's not something we tend to talk about, though.

Colly, you seem to have conveniently forgotten to mention the real competition - the competition for the spinner's slot - Monty Vs Giles. Ian Bell shouldn't have too many doubts about walking into the final XI. It should be a toss-up between you and Cook. I would pick you. But honestly, there shouldn't be too much change in the team's fortunes if they don't pick you. Same with the keeping slot - it shouldn't really matter much who gets picked between Jones and Read. The real question of debate is with the slow-bowling slot.

Freddie's new tattoo

2006-11-08T07:34:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: BBC

"Andy is a big lad but in the scale of things it isn't really that big. It's more the impact of one day seeing bare skin and the next quite a prominent piece of art on his arm.

"He's at an age where he knows his own mind. It's making a statement about something he does for his career. I don't think for one minute he'll regret what he's done."

The new tattoo includes the Roman numerals for Flintoff's Test player number (591 - DXCI) and one-day player number (154 - CLIV), below the three lions of the England badge.

A repeat performance of last year's Ashes - and Freddie will have the Ashes urn tattooed below those player-numbers.

Polly Umrigar.. R.I.P

2006-11-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: NDTV

One of the all time greats of Indian cricket Polly Umrigar passed away on Tuesday night in Mumbai. He was 80 years old.

Umrigar represented India in 59 Tests and scored 3631 runs at an average of 42.22, and he had also picked 35 wickets with his off-break bowling.

According to reports, he had been keeping unwell since June this year and was believed to be suffering from cancer. In fact, the legendary batsman had missed the BCCI's function felicitating former captains on Saturday.

The first time I heard Polly's name was way back in 1988. I was in 6th grade and was representing my school in some inter-city Quiz. The last round was a rapid-fire round where we had to answer 5 questions in some real quick time. For us to win the event, we had to get all 5 questions right. We got the first 4 correct and then the quiz master asked us to name the first Indian cricketer to score a test double century. I had no clue and I remember my team-mate saying "Dolly something". We lost and I haven't forgotten the answer to that question since. May his soul rest in peace.

When Mr. Pawar got nudged..

2006-11-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: India Times

To begin with, as the closing ceremony drew to a close, Ricky Ponting waved his fingers at BCCI president Sharad Pawar, signalling him to come and hand over the winners' trophy. It may or may not have been in jest but Pawar had the decency to just laugh and ask Ponting to step forward instead to complete the formalities.

But the story didn't end there. As the Aussies celebrated exuberantly, the stage was set for the victory photograph. However, even as the players were taking positions for the cameras, Damien Martyn tapped at Pawar - who happened to be standing there - and literally pushed him out of the stage. Pawar walked away quietly, not showing any hurt or anger.

Intentional or not, it did seem a bit rude on camera. For those of you who didn't get to watch the incident that I'm talking about, here is the video..

Ganguly scores a ton...

2006-11-06T09:35:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Varun Gupta / Hindustan Times

There were no wild celebrations, none of the theatrics so often associated with him. Just a look towards the heavens and a punch in the air, as Ashish Nehra, who had fought valiantly to deny him the feat, rushed to his former captain, a man who backed him when others would not and congratulated him, as the rest of the North team followed suit.

Outside the dressing room, national selectors Venkatpathy Raju and Ranjib Biswal stood up and applauded, flashing the thumbs up sigh to Ganguly.

The significance of the moment was not lost on anyone, because at this stage, with Yuvraj Singh not available and the Indian batting floundering match after match, Ganguly, vastly experienced, had staked his claim for a national spot. The prince had just taken a giant stride to reclaim his lost kingdom and in the process, had transcended this Duleep Trophy. The game, now, seems merely incidental to the feat. Tea ensued an over later and both selectors came down the stairs to welcome Ganguly to the dressing room with open arms. It was hard not to imagine that they might have been welcoming him back to the Indian team.

Whether you like him or not, whether he makes it back to the national team or not, whether he consistently repeats this performance or not - you just can't help admire that steely determination of his.

Vijay Bharadwaj retires

2006-11-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

Vijay Bharadwaj made his international debut against SA in the 1999 Nairobi LG Cup. His bowling figures in his first 4 ODI games read 10-3-16-1, 7-0-38-3, 6-0-34-3 and 8-0-34-3. With the bat he made 18*, 41*, 6* and 24. Those performances were enough to fetch him a Man-of-the-Match award and a Man-of-the-series award. He had a slipped disc problem in the 2000 series down-under and though he recovered from it, he was never the same player. He was recalled for the 2001/02 ODI series against Zimbabwe and was run-out for a duck in the only game that he played.

Courtesy: The Hindu

"I never played for money or fame but I always wanted to play for the sheer pride of representing Karnataka. Now though the selectors have not announced the Ranji probables list, I know I am not in that list and hence I don't think there is any point in me extending my career. I am announcing my retirement and I thank my family, friends, KSCA, teammates, my cricket clubs — City Cricketers and BUCC and my employer Canara Bank, for all their support," Bharadwaj said.

He wants to get into coaching/umpiring. Wish him the very best.

Cricket Oscars 2006

2006-11-03T12:31:00.000-08:00

Player of the Year, Test Player of the Year: Ricky Ponting
Ricky was my pick. He did have a great year

ODI Player of the Year: Michael Hussey.
Yuvraj Singh was my pick. Hussey scored 769 runs at 64.08. But Yuvraj scored almost double the number of runs (1496) during the same period at an equally impressive average (57.53).

Captain of the Year: Mahela Jayawardene.
Ricky was my pick. But I'm happy for Mahela. And I'm glad that the adjudicators didn't pick the winner just by looking at the highest winning percentage. Ricky had quite a few rifts with the umpires on the field, while Mahela conducted himself very well both on and off the field.

Emerging Player of the Year: Ian Bell.
Asif was my pick. But after the doping scandal, there was little chance that Gavaskar and co. would do the politically incorrect thing. Without Asif in the fray, Bell was the obvious choice.

Women's Player of the Year: Karen Rolton.
Anjum Chopra was my pick. Guess, I was a bit biased. The women play so little cricket that it isn't always easy to determine who the best.

Umpire of the Year: Simon Taufel
I picked Taufel. Hat-trick for him - won it for the third consecutive time. For someone who sets very high standards, he did make a few mistakes this year. But, I guess the others committed more.

Spirit of Cricket Award: England
It couldn't be Pakistan. It couldn't be Australia. It could have been New Zealand. The adjudicators somehow seem to have found the English team to be the least controversial of them all.

World Test Team of the Year: Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid (capt), Mohammed Yousuf, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Andrew Flintoff, Shane Warne, Makhaya Ntini, Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath. 12th man: Brett Lee.

6 Aussies, 2 Sri Lankans, 1 Indian, 1 Pakistani, 1 South African and 1 Englishman. Dravid gets to lead. Mahela Jayawardene and Younis Khan miss out from being a part of the star-studded middle order. Lee (67 wkts) did better than McGrath (34 wkts) last season, but has to make way for his senior partner. Murali and Warne accounted for more than 200 wickets between them last season and any team facing that lineup would seriously think of forfeiting the game without playing.

World ODI Team of the Year: Adam Gilchrist (wkt), MS Dhoni, Ricky Ponting, Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Michael Hussey, Andrew Flintoff, Irfan Pathan, Brett Lee, Shane Bond, Muttiah Muralitharan. 12th man: Andrew Symonds.

5 Aussies, 3 Indians, 2 Sri Lankans, 1 Englishman and 1 Kiwi. Mahela gets to be the captain. Gilchrist and Dhoni are the openers - amazing pair of wicket-keeper batsmen.Sangakkara would feel bad for not making into the squad after scoring 1756 runs last season - but you can't just pack the whole team with wicket-keepers. Gilchrist is the keeper while Dhoni gets to play as a pure batsman. Not bad for someone who did not feature in the originial list of 17 nominees for the "ODI Player of the Year" award. Some would argue that Irfan doesn't deserve to be in that list, but he did have a great season last year - picking up 58 wickets at 21.93 and also scoring 500+ runs at 28.57.

Pix Credit: Getty Images [Persons seen - Urmila Matondkar, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, A dancer, Preity Zinta, Simon Taufel, Karen Rolton, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond and Sachin Tendulkar]

The Gourmet Opener

2006-10-31T14:12:00.000-08:00

For all those who loved the Salt-Crusted Red Emperor and the Calypso Crayfish recipes from Matt Hayden's first cook-book, the Prawn Pita Pizza, the Salmon Quiche, the Veal Stew with Parsley Dumplings and the Rib Eye on Spinach with Beetroot and Horseradish Puree recipes from his second book should look really yummy. Hayden (was bitten by a dog recently) would be looking to serve more than just good food in the upcoming Ashes series.

Pix Credit: Allenandunwin

Rajasthan's Worcestershire connection

2006-10-31T11:11:00.000-08:00

Courtesy: Worcester News

Worcestershire's England internationals Vikram Solanki and Kabir Ali are preparing to experience life as overseas players.

The County duo have signed up to play first-class cricket for the Rajasthan Cricket Association this winter in India's Ranji Championship Plate Division.

The Ajay Jadeja led Rajasthan team lost to Saurashtra in the Plate final last season. The inclusion of the two England discards will surely bolster Rajasthan's chances of winning it. Worcs skipper Solanki was born in Udaipur and spent his early childhood in Rajasthan. He is 30 years old and he would be hoping a good stint with his birth state would give him enough confidence to stage a comeback at the international level. Kabir Ali is 25 and has managed to play just one test and 14 ODIs after making his debut at the international level in 2003. He looked woefully out of depth against Sri Lanka earlier this year and was dropped for the subsequent tournament. Though the quality of teams in the Plate group is not as great as those of the Elite teams, there would still be ample opportunities for these two to test themselves on the Indian soil.