1st Test starts tomorrow

At long last the skies seem to have cleared up over Madras and the stage is set for a full-length Test here after a very long time. I, unfortunately, cannot make it to the match until the 4th day at the earliest: too much work piled up. I am hoping to be at the Chepauk on Saturday and Sunday by which time the match should be interestingly poised.

The Indian XI, as I see it, will have to pick 3 out of Pathan, RP, Sreesanth and Jaffer; the rest pick themselves. My gut says that Pathan will miss out unless something dramatic happens.

Providing it does not rain again, this Test will not peter out into a dull draw. Bhaji and Kumble, with Sehwag and Sachin to spell them, should pose enough of a challenge to the SA batsmen. Sachin has always done well here and I am looking forward to another big score from him. If India bats first, life could be very difficult for SA if the match lasts the distance. I do not think SA have the spinners to seriously trouble India but then, we have been known to succumb against lesser opposition.

Overall, it is a fantastic opportunity for both teams to consolidate on their recent successes.

Play begins in about 16 hours.

Cricket under India’s control - contd..

Sunny Gavaskar has done it again. In his newspaper column, he has launched a tirade against the English and the Aussies (primarily) saying that they are like dinosaurs who do not see the changing reality of India’s hegemony over the sport and its controlling body.

I had made the same point in a previous post but I have the advantage of being an outside observer unlike Gavaskar, who is also the Chairman of the ICC cricket committee. His sentiments are no doubt valid but he has to pick one role: be a part of the ICC or be a part of the media. He cannot have it both ways because the conflict of interest is unavoidable. Moreover, any comment or decision will be viewed under the light of bias irrespective of how fair it is.

One also is curious to know how the ICC permitted him to don both hats. Times without number, the BCCI has pulled up cricketers for writing columns or expressing their views without clearance. Does the ICC not have any such restriction? About time they took this seriously and I hope Gavaskar realises that he has to be outside the establishment to pillory it in public. Or not.

1st Test

The good news is that Bhajji and Dhoni have been declared fit to play the 1st Test. However, the weather gods seem to have a different plan.

I have never known it to rain in Madras in March but this time it seems to be puring with a vengeance. Maybe this is the solution to Madras’ water problems - host an international cricket match here and it rains. Surely cheaper than Telugu Ganga or Kannada Cauvery or Punjabi Sutlej. And cheaper than cloud seeding. In fact, the BCCI should ask the government to declare its income tax free.

For those in Madras, who eagerly look forward to watching the match at the Chepauk, this is a big blow. Old-timers will repeat ad nauseum, “That is why the matches were held during Pongal (mid-January) in Madras”. 

Will the skies clear up in time for the match?

Hairy situation

As if all the controversy generated during the Indian tour of Australia was not enough, comes the ICC decision to reinstate Darrell Hair.  To add a twist to the tale, the ICC has said that it is considering not appointing Hair for matches involving Pakistan.

The Pakistanis are upset that he is reinstated, the Aussies are cock-a-hoop that he is back and the rest of the world probably does not care.

Watch this space for more developments….

Robin Singh to stay on

The BCCI did a quick volte face today and said that Robin will stay on as the fielding coach - at least until May. Now, get this - the BCCI said that it had given word to Singh before last year’s tour to Ireland that he would work with the team until this May. Isn’t that something? The BCCI kept its word!! Inspite of the new coach, Gary Kirsten, advising that Robin be left out because his services suite one-day cricket better.

Why do we end up with coaches like these? The chap just got in and he has to rock the boat straightaway. He probably knows something that the others do not. If the coach has a good reason for not having Robin among the support staff, maybe the BCCI can give Robin the money due him and let him go. Get him back later - if he is willing to return.

Anyway, I think the performance of all these various coaches need to be analysed to see if they actually are contributing to the team’s success. But first, some benchmarks need to be defined. Is the BCCI listening?

Cricket vs. baseball?

Jonathan Mariner, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, Major League Baseball is visiting India in his role as a member of the Technology Frontiers Ltd. board. He has said that cricket and baseball share similarities - like they both use a bat and a ball? - and he hopes to explore this correlation in the future.

That will be the day. The IPL has taken us a step closer to that dream (is that the word I am looking for?) and if baseball were to take India by storm as Mariner is hoping it will, that will be the last nail on Test cricket’s coffin. I fervently hope and strongly believe that it will not happen.

Even with the T20 format, at the end of around three hours, we have a total score of about 300 runs. Compare this with baseball where after 9 innings - and approximately 3 hours - the score could be 1-0. Very exciting and action-filled as compared to cricket, right?

This does not take in the extra innings thing which, like in all sports that Americans are fond of, brings “closure”. I cannot understand this obsession. If the teams are evenly matched on that day, I guess a tie/draw is a perfectly acceptable result.

Oh! well, I will continue this rant against baseball later. Once the IPL starts, probably I will change my mind.

ICL not recognised

No surprise that the ICC has not recognised the ICL. Less surprising that since the BCCI has not recognised the ICL, the ICC has not. Is there a kind of monopoly that is acceptable?

Robin Singh left out

I read in the newspapers today that Robin is not to be a part of the coaching outfit for the Test series. The reason trotted out is that his “presence will be required more for a one-day international series and not for a short three-Test series“.

I am shocked! What kind of stupid logic is this? Now we can see why we lose Tests that we should have won. The adage, as I remember it, is “catches win matches” and not “catches win one-day internationals”. Quite possibly, the BCCI knows only the latter.

If Robin was not effective, say that. If it is because of financial considerations, acknowledge that. But this is as lame an excuse as the dog ate my homework. There are things at play which are not made clear and Indian cricket will suffer because of this. Maybe Robin needs to be politically more astute?

ICL - Fielding

I watched two ICL matches last week - Lahore vs. Chennai and Mumbai vs. Kolkata.

The first thing that jumps out at you is the pathetic fielding standards. Granted, the outfield was more a minefield but the fielders looked to be totally out of shape and had no sense of where the ball was going.

Parore missed stumping Inzy - can you believe that? Inzy’s batting was heavenly, of course.

I am hoping that the standards will improve and that the ICL also gets to play on better grounds. The fight is petty and we, as paying public, deserve better.

I also caught a bit of the Hyderabad vs. Lahore match and I was amazed at the huge turnout. This gives me hope that there is enough room for two leagues. Perhaps we will end up with 300 different World Champions like in boxing. Who knows?

Team announced for 1st Test

The team has been announced and, as expected, there are no surprises. It would have been good to give Gambhir chance but I guess that is asking for too much. Jaffer should count himself lucky as should Yuvraj.

Piyush Chawla deserves the place in the team but we will have to wait and see if he gets to play which should happen if Bhajji is out. Given that Dhoni has been playing a lot of cricket, it might be a good idea to rest him and let Dinesh Karthik don the gloves at least for the first Test. He could even open if necessary which will keep the team composition flexible.