As Bad As It Gets

What crime did the bowlers commit for them to suffer such torture? Is there a role that the bowlers have in the Twenty20 form of cricket other than being made scape goats to be mercilessly slaughtered by the batsmen? If the idea of the tournament is to allow the public to enjoy watching some brutal batting displays, why not replace the bowlers with a bowling machine?

I feel that the bowlers in a team can be replaced by batsmen and then a bowling machine can be introduced to throw balls at the batsman. The captain of the team can be allowed to choose the speed, the type of delivery and may be some other finer variations regarding the delivery. He can control all this from the field using a wireless controller or some other highly sophisticated device. This approach has the benefit that it allows a team to be fully loaded with batsmen (which I am sure the public would not complain about) and also spares the bowlers of mindless brutality they are put through (And I am sure the bowlers would not complain about this). What you guys say???

Eating My Words!!!

It is one of the most unpleasant things that can happen to you: to be forced to eat your words! Tendulkar has just proven me and my predictions wrong. He has performed extraordinarily well in England and is making me look real bad. I have no qualms in accepting that I have been proved wrong by the greatness of Tendulkar. The fact that Tendulkar is batting so well is good news for India and the Indian fans. India were able to escape from the jaws of defeat at Lords and now they have won the test at Nottingham. With the animosity in the ground increasing between the teams, the third and final test at Oval is poised for a great finish. Add to the fact that a draw would mean that this would be the first defeat of England at home after their defeat at the hands of Aussies in 2001.

Tendulkar is GREAT but.....

Every aging sports icon has to go through a cruel phase of introspection where he has to answer to himself & his millions of fans on his impending retirement. The icon has to decide to call it quits when the question is still "Why retire now?" and before the question turns into "Why not retire now?" One of the persons who did this to perfection is 'Pistol' Pete Sampras. When the sports fraternity had started writing him off, he showed the world what he is made up of by winning the US Open championship and his record 14th grand slam tournament. Then he coolly bid farewell to the game when at the top of his game. He did not pick up a racquet for close to 3 years and when he finally did pick up a racquet for a seniors tournament, no less a person than John McEnroe wants him to return to his famous hunting ground of Wimbledon.

A similar problem seems to be haunting Sachin Tendulkar these days. Anyone who watched him play Bangladesh even for 10 minutes could clearly tell that there is something terribly wrong with him and his cricket. It is not that I don't recognize the contribution Sachin has made to Indian cricket but to still continue playing when his mind is not there in the game is doing injustice to a prospective younger player aiming for his batting slot. More than injustice to a player, it is a great injustice to the public in a cricket loving nation like India. It is unfair on my part to suggest this but the facts seem to point to only this: Sachin is still playing only for the huge amount of endorsements that he has signed for. When you think that Sachin is worth a staggering $4.6 million annual endorsement money it is easily fathomable to understand the motive behind Sachin wanting to continue playing internationally. Will Sachin prove me wrong in England and make me eat my words? I would be more than happy to do that but the chances of that happening are very slim though right now.

Book not written!!!

How would you feel if someone gives an interview about a book they have written and finally ends up saying that they have not read the book? This is exactly what Steve Harmison does in this interview. It is indeed a well known fact that the tour diaries and other books from popular sports personalities are "Ghost Written" by someone else. Does it mean that the person whose name has been credited with writing it not even read it once before approving for publishing?

The transcript of the interview where Harmison coolly says about not having read the book:
I ask how he came to write the book. "It came about when Marcus went home. He was writing a diary with Justin Langer and, when he went home, they asked me if I'd do it. I thought, 'Yeah, why not? I've not been involved in a book before.'" Did he have to be very disciplined to maintain the diary? "Not really. I've not read the book but what I'm hearing from the feedback of people who've glanced through it is that it's a pretty honest opinion of what happened." (Taken from cricinfo)

It amounts to cheating the public & their fans who dish out the money to buy the book only to find at a later point of time that the 'Popular' star has no clue whatsoever on what has been written in the book. A sad state of affairs indeed in the world of sports.

Remember Woolmer , ICC?

It has been 40 (Yes, it is indeed FORTY) days since Bob Woolmer was found murdered in his hotel room and still there is no news about who the killer(s) might be. Are you kidding me, ICC? With the body of Woolmer allowed to be flown to his country this sunday only, there is a strong suspicion that the arms of the Jamaican police have been twisted by the ICC to not reveal the "Significant developments" till the world cup gets over. The conspiracy theorists have been working overtime coming up with possible & plausible reasons for getting Woolmer eliminated.

Theory #1: The Westindies vs Pakistan world cup match was a 'Fixed' one with Pakistan losing to Westindies being the final outcome that was expected. The unexpected twist in this story happened when Pakistan lost to Ireland. Obviously, no one included Ireland in the 'Betting' game. They are, after all, minnows in the game of betting! Pakistan lost its chance to make it to the 'Super 8' stage and all hell broke loose with the coach coming to know of the conspirators.

Theory #2: The book that Woolmer was writing was too revealing & had too many names. This made the 'Betting' powers unhappy and they decide to eliminate the coach. The fact that the transcript of the book is missing adds the necessary authenticity to this story. The only flaw in this 'proposed' theory is that the they could have got to Woolmer anytime before or after the world cup campaign of Pakistan. No sane thinking murderer (Oops!) would try such a stupid thing in the middle of a world cup.

With the CCTV footage revealing the likely suspect, the chances of the murderer getting exposed real soon has dramatically increased. One word of caution: Do not be surprised if the Jamaican police or the ICC come up with the theory that the likely suspect in the CCTV footage is Bob Woolmer himself and that he might have murdered himself!

The only thing that we can do is to pray for the soul of Woolmer to rest in peace and hope that justice prevails.

World Cup Series -- Team India

The old warriors Ganguly & Kumble are back in the team. The Indian team now sports a mix of fresh minds & rich experience. Then there is 'Big 3' of Sachin, Ganguly & 'Wall' Dravid combining powers with the swashbuckling Sehwag & the rollicking Dhoni. Is this team capable enough to bring home the world cup? An inexperienced bowling attack combined with the 'Old' warriors who will be prove to be liabilities in fielding will act as the undoing for this otherwise talented team. Expect India to crash out after the 'Super 8' stage.

Strengths:
1) Strong batting lineup
2) Mix of experience & fresh legs
3) The 'Big 3'

Weaknesses:
1) An inexperienced bowling attack that will wither away under pressure
2) Fielding
3) A listless Sehwag & Pathan

Position after Super 8 stage:
5 or 6(Five or six)

The squad:
Rahul Dravid (Captain), Ajit Agarkar, Mahendra Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Dinesh Karthik, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Sachin Tendulkar, Robin Uthappa

Expert Speaks: Vamsi's Take

Last Man Standing!

This seems to be story of the upcoming world cup wherein the hype surrounding the "most prestigious one-day tournament on the cricketing calendar" is going to be marred by the ability of each team to stand their best 11 on the field throughout the tour. All the teams are plagued either by injuries, out-of-form players or surprise retirements, which in turn ensured some drastic last minute changes. Most of the teams are now destined to fight for the world cup with either second-rated teams or with overaged individuals, and the selection criteria for each team is not based on talent and form, but rather on lack of options.

It wasn't long ago that team India was run by Greg Chappell's theory of engineering the young blood to take up the mantle and the experience of Dravid and Sachin to guide them through before they move into the realms of retirment. The idea was to ensure that a well-nurtured young team has the potential to sustain injuries and it also improves the fielding department, but that back-fired for a lot of valid reasons. And now, we enter the world cup with a team that is loaded with experienced individuals, most of whom will be playing their last World cup, and most of whom are carrying their injuries with them. But when you compare with the rest of the teams, on paper, India is fielding the best possible 15 in the world.

The story of the Indian team has been revolving a lot around one man, Sourav Chandidas Ganguly. His comeback to the team has been nothing but sensational and it resembles a lot to any popular Bollywood movie theme.... but can he live upto the expectation remains to be seen. An in-form Indian team was drubbed by the WI when we toured them last, and Ganguly wasn't part of that squad. Infact, it has been quite a while since Ganguly toured WI and though the pitches there are said to resemble a lot to the subcontinent batting beauties, it will be a different ball game all together playing in foreign conditions after a long time.

India have no batting worries yet, they have the explosive Robin Uthappa to support the rejuvenated Ganguly, and the middle order has the likes of Dravid, Sachin and Yuvraj. And then you have the maturity of Dhoni to finish things and if he were to show the same kind of consistency that he's shown over the past one year, India will definetely take some effort to beat. And if you are to look for more batting options, bring Sehwag in the middle order, given any signs of form. Ofcourse Dravid would always want Sehwag to feature in the mix of things, but he too cannot overlook his inconsistency with the bat and surely, he will not be missed in the field. An ideal situation would be to have Irfan Pathan fill in the position of number 7 that, from good olden days of cricket, was that of a genuine all-rounder. Pathan can still smack the ball out of the park with the bat, but it is when he bowls should he ensure the ball doesn't end up there too often. Pathan is no Shaun Pollock or Glen Mcgrath to trouble the batsman with his length, and during the early days of his career it was his swing that was doing wonders for him. Now, there is loads of support that can be dumped on Pathan from the captain and coach but getting selected for the world cup itself should act as a morale-booster. But once again it is upto him to come up with the goods when it matters.

A break has certainly done a world of good for Zaheer Khan, but the likes of Kumble, Harbhajan and Agarkar have been pretty ordinary off-late. Agreed that they are world class bowlers in their own ranks but they haven't done enough to trouble the batsman in the recent series. In our backup bowling options, Munaf Patel has the accuracy but lacks the fitness and Sreesanth has been too erratic. The biggest headache is the likeliness of our bowling to wilt under a counter-attack. For now, India has no answer to this.

But here is the interesting part. If you look at the winners of the 1996 world cup, the Srilankan team had a mix of youth and experience - in all departments. Comparing that team with the current Indian team, a similar mix and match of individuals can be found in all aspects and also the pitches are likely to suit the subcontinent teams. If India can go through this two-month period without any injuries, and if the big guns fire, I don't see any reason why India should not bring home the cup, albeit after a quarter century. And most of the big guns, be it batting or bowling, are playing their last world cup, so it doesn't get any bigger than this for all of them.

World Cup Series -- Team Sri Lanka

The Srilankan world cup triumph in 1996 has always been discredited by the fact that two teams (Australia & West Indies) forfeited their league matches because of security reasons. The Lankans, with their present lineup, has a chance to redeem themselves in the world cup stage. With a bowling lineup well suited for the West Indian conditions and an equally talented batting order, expect this team to prove to be a thorn in the ambitions of many a teams. With Jayasuriya regaining his savage 'touch', count this team in the list of teams for the semifinals.

Strengths:
1) An excellent bowling lineup with various options
2) A 'back to his best' Sanath Jayasuriya
3) Astute captaincy of Mahela Jayawardane

Weaknesses:
1) Over dependence on a few key players like Vaas & Muralitharan
2) A suspect middle order

Position after Super 8 stage:
4(Four)

The squad:
Mahela Jayawardene (Captain), Russel Arnold, Marvan Atapattu, Malinga Bandara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya, Nuwan Kulasekara, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga, Chaminda Vaas

World Cup Series -- Team Australia

With the recent 5 consecutive losses not withstanding, this Aussie team is still the team to beat. The batting order runs deep with batsmen of the caliber of Andrew Symonds coming in at 6 to spice up things. Then there is Michael Hussey, who is touted as the replacement to Michael Bevan, to create havoc among the opposition bowlers. Bowling remains the weakest link to this otherwise 'Near perfect' team. Even with the absence of Brett Lee, the bowling attack is still a formidable one with the great Glenn McGrath leading it from the front. Expect this team in the semifinals.

Strengths:
1) A great allround team
2) Ability to adjust to any condition
3) Their winning habit

Weaknesses:
1) Recent reversals
2) A 'not so formidable' bowling attack

Position after Super 8 stage:
1(One)

The squad:
Ricky Ponting (Captain), Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait, Shane Watson

World Cup Series -- Team West Indies

Will the West Indies bring back the cup they used to dominate when the tournament started in the 70's? Is Lara capable enough to add the elusive world cup to his stupendous list of achievements? Does the present team have enough firepower to win this edition of the world cup? Home advantage always plays a great role in converting a formidable team into a unbeatable one and this Windies team would be greatly benefited by the support of the crowds. With a good combination of slow, medium & fast bowling options, this team has the personnel to make it to the semifinals of the tournament.

Strengths:
1) Home conditions
2) Bowling options
3) An improved fielding

Weaknesses:
1) Over dependence on Lara & Gayle
2) A weak middle order
3) Lack of a genuine strike bowler in the class of McGrath or Bond

Position after Super 8 stage:
3(Three)

The squad:

Brian Lara (Captain), Ian Bradshaw, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Corey Collymore, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor

World Cup Series -- Team Pakistan

If there is something that is consistent about any of the Pakistan cricket teams, it is their ability to be consistently inconsistent. With Akthar & Asif found 'unfit' for the world cup, it will be a Herculean task for this team to make it to the semifinals stage. With the services of Abdul Razzaq also being not available, only a miracle would be able to pull this team towards its second world cup triumph. All said & done, expect this team to pull some great upsets during the 'Super 8' stage as they could be monster slayers when they decide to work as a team. (Well, 'assuming' that they decide to work as a team)

Strengths:
1) Their 'Super' sized ego
2) ???? (If you find something else, please let me know)

Weaknesses:
1) Inability to work as a team
2) Absence of Asif, Akthar & Razzaq
3) Shoddy fielding

Position after Super 8 stage:
7(Seven)

The squad:

Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Azhar Mahmood, Danish Kaneria, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Yousuf, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Rao Ifitkhar Anjum, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat, Younis Khan

Expert Speaks: Vamsi's Take

Team Inconsistent!!

Of all the balls bowled by Shoaib Akhtar, two will always be etched in the memory of all cricketing folks around the world. The first one is in the 1999 world cup semi-final against New Zealand where in-set Stephen Flemming is cleaned up by a beauty, sending his off-stump sailing all the way to the keeper. All the players including Flemming himself were stunned by the pace of the delivery, and the chances for New Zealand slowly slippped away in that match. The second one is in the 2003 world cup league match against India, wherein a pumped up Akhtar was given the second over of the match and the third ball disappeared over the fence over third man for six. The momentum given by the Indians, in particular by Sachin, in that over changed the complexion of the match and what should have been a tough chase ended up to be a walk in the park. This is the story of the Pakistan team in all. Though the example quoted above shows matches that are 4 years apart, this team was and is capable of coming up with such a contrasting performance two matches in a row. Who would have thought, that a team ends up in the final of one of the most gripping world cups of recent times, would lose to Bangladesh in the league stage.

The Pakistan teams of 1992 and 1999 were well-balanced, as is always the case with any of their other world cup teams. They always tend to find the right balance of batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders, who can win the match from any situation. But what really worked for them during these two world cups in particular was the build-up leading to it. On both occasions they had good series at home and away and they gelled as a unit by the time the world cup was near. Comparing either of these with the outfit of 2003, the morale of the team was at a low following some disastrous tours prior to the start and some insipid interest of the politicians in playing with the team composition. The result, they crashed out of the world cup without making it to the super sixes. Another important note is the discipline of the team members. Most of the cricketers in the team considered their presence itself in the middle should be reason enough to win the match and never went on to put some effort in actually working towards it. Consistent players end up delivering the goods and are always feared because of their uncanny ability to do their basics right at any given situation, and that comes more out of practice. These were the kind of lessons that the Akhtars, Akrams and Waqars of the 2003 squad realized, albeit too late.

The good part for Pakistan now is that now they have a team that is not only well-balanced, but also has the discipline among its players that was definetely lacking at one point. The team has long realized that even without the services of "superstars", they can still come up with decent and consistent performances as long as the players are willing to take up the responsibility. Inzamam has been able to nurture his young squad with effect for quite sometime now and is also known for shaping up the careers of some promising your players like Imran Farhat, Mohammed Asif and Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan. And then he has the ever-reliable Mohammed Yousuf in the middle order who's been scoring runs by the mountains. The form of the captain himself has been commendable for the past few years now and ofcourse, it is a well known fact that it was the big stage of world cup 1992 that Inzamam powerfully announced his entry into the arena of cricketing greats.

So where does Pakistan stand in its chances of winning its second world cup? Lets verify each department. In batting, they have troubles at the top of their order, but the middle order seems to have settled in quite well with Inzamam, Younis Khan and Mohammed Yousuf providing them the stability and acceleration. They have a promising wicket-keeper in Kamran Akmal, who's shown the maturity of a middle order batsman but can also use the long handle very well. And then they have the belters - Afridi and Azhar Mehmood. Razzaq could have done some wonders for Pakistan in this department had he not joined the long list of injured players, but then Azhar Mehmood is also known to weild the long handle well. Their inexperienced bowling attack will be put to test in this series, and the doping charges/injuries to both Shoaib and Asif will definetely dent that department. But the conditions under which their back-up bowling has been tested are similar to those that will be found in the WI, and if the nature of the pitches are any close to those found in the sub-continent, their bowling might just click.

Does this mean this team has the ability to go all the way? The answer is a yes and no. This by far forms the beauty of unpredictable teams. Their build up to this year's world cup has been nothing less dramatic. From the brewing politics within the team to doping charges, from forcibly forfeiting test matches to puppet captains, the whole team has been in the hot seat for its histronics off the field than on it. And the prospect of winning against their neighbors has always put the team in a positive note, but unfortunately their last home series against the Indians was another disastrous drubbing that forced some more changes in the team composition. Just said all this, they just might surprise enough teams with consistent performances through the league stage, that might get them a good standing in the super 8. And then, one man's gain has to come at the loss of another, so if the other teams are to lose some ground somewhere during the league stage, Pakistan might just eke itself into the semi-finals. At this stage though, it appears to be a very long shot!!

World Cup Series -- Team South Africa

The proteas have been the "So close yet so far" team for a long time that it is time for them to prove their mettle at the largest showdown in world cricket. Will this team of great talent do what it has not been able to do after coming back to the league in 1992? Will it prove the maxim "The team with the best fielding side wins the world cup" true? Did the coaching talent of Jonty Rhodes help the proteas to go to the next level in fielding? Has the team "exorcised" the ghosts of their 1999 semifinal tie? With the record 436 run chase behind them, I feel that the Proteas have come a long way. With a bit of luck on their side, this South African team has got what is needed for holding aloft the world cup.

Strengths:
1) Meticulously planned approach to the game
2) Fielding
3) An excellent team

Weaknesses:
1) The "Ghost" of their previous world cup losses
2) Lack of spin bowling options
3) An inherent inability to adapt to hitherto unseen situations

Position after Super 8 stage:
2(Two)

The squad:
Graeme Smith(Captain), Loots Bosman, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Roger Telemachus

Expert Speaks: Vamsi's Take

World Number 1!

Hail the new kings of ODI cricket! SA have finally dethroned the Aussies from their number one ranking that they held close to 9 years, and though they weren't the team to give them the shove, they certainly were the team to start the process. The match that was dubbed to be the greatest ever ODI ever played (SA chasing down the Oz's 434) gave a lot of teams the kind of push that they needed to show that the Aussies are fallible as the rest. Some might claim that this particular match might be a blip on the radar, but looking at the SA's performance in ODIs prior to that series and over the past 24 months, they have come a long way to prove their consistency. They whitewashed the Windies in WI, drew the ODI series in India, gave India and NZ a horrible drubbing at home and gave Srilanka a jolt in Srilanka. The only blip in this rejuvenation period was to miss out on the finals berth against SL and Aus in the VB series, but that has happened to the best of teams during their tour Down Under.

Now come the interesting facts about South African cricket. Ever since one can remember, a team of their potential and track record has always been plagued by their ill-luck and their inability to cash in during crucial encounters. Other than a sublime victory over India at Sharjah or winning the ICC knockout trophy in 1998, SA have been known to collapse in multi-nation tournaments except at home. At home though, their record has been sublime. They have given the best of teams a whack in the back in ODIs except ofcourse at the world cup. And coming to world cups, they have a whole different story to tell. Every cricketing fan across the globe remembers the memorable rain-affected clash between England and SA, where the equation of 22 runs remained the same but the balls began shrinking by every rain drop falling on the Sydney Cricket Ground. If it were Gods having fun with the Proteas in 1992, it was a determined and fiery West Indian, who wanted to prove a point or two, took it to them after being in a racial taunt in 1996. Till that point, the West Indies hadn't done anything significant in that world cup, but went on to drown SA with a big score. This by far was the only reasonable and decent exit for the South Africans in world cup cricket. World cup 1999 brought to fore the name that was synonymous with SA cricket for quite sometime to come. 'Zulu' took it upon himself to see SA all the way from the inaugural game against India to the semi-final stage and almost got them through except ofcourse for a mis-judgement in a run with Donald which cost the world cup final berth. What followed next was history, but it would be interesting to notice that SA was by far the only semi-finalist who were able to defeat Pakistan in the league stage, thanks again to Lance Klusener. And then came the curse of the hosts in 2003. SA were well on track to get to Super-six, but then having thought that they had achieved the target they needed against Sri Lanka, Boucher decided to defend the last ball in the rain-affected match - that was by far the heights of mis-communication that can be ever recorded in a one-day game. These near misses might associate this team with 'the chokers' tag, but then are they equipped to finish in style this time around?

In batting, they have the swashbuckling captain to lead them from the front followed by Gibbs, Kallis, Prince, De Villiers and Kemp, everyone of whom is matchwinner in his own right. Then come the reliable Boucher and Shaun Pollock. And if you think the batting ends there, you are in for another surprise. Their recent find Andrew Hall has been playing the ball with the willow of a tail-ender but with the mind of a middle-order batsman. And then, their depth in batting goes all the way till number 9, which gives them enough buffer to pull themselves out of a hole if they find themselves in one. All they need is one top-order batsman to bat through and they will always find support from the tail to bat through the 50 overs. The only fallible point in their batting is their inability to adapt on a spin track against a quality spin team.

Teams like Pakistan, Australia and South Africa have always had reserves in digging up their fast bowlers from all corners of the country and not the itsy-bitsy Venkatesh Prasads and Debashish Mohantys of the Indian team, but genuine quality fast bowlers that can strangle the opposition. They can definetely boast of a quality bowling line up with Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini to lead the pack and Andrew Nel, Jacques Kallis and Andrew Hall to fill in the rest of the overs. The only department that is weak is in spin with the captain providing some part-time off-spin option and Botha coming into play on spin tracks.

And then comes the whole new dimension of modern day cricket, the fielding. This dimension is new in the sense, in prior days, Cricket, the Gentleman's game, was played like one. There would be no indication of dirt or mud on your outfit and throwing yourself around on the field to save a run was not necessary as your favors are bound to be returned by the opposition. Then came in SA in 1991 and along with them came Jonty Rhodes. From that year forth, the department of fielding has never been the same. It was these South Africans who took the concept of fielding to a whole new level and their standards still remain the same. Jonty Rhodes may be long gone into retirement, but his commitment to cricket has brought him back as their fielding coach and that has done the team more good. Any given South African team can easily outscore the opposition by atleast 20-30 runs in fielding alone, which is a great bonus in modern cricket.

This team, like all other South African World cup squads, has the capability to take home the cup, but the closest they have been to the cup is the semi-finals in 1992 and 1999. If they are able to stick to their plans and most importantly, if they are "lucky" this time around, they just might do it. It has been too many near misses to miss out on the ultimate cricketing glory.

World Cup Series -- Team New Zealand

The 'Blacks' from New Zealand recently did something what others have not been able to do in 646 one day internationals. Hand out the Aussies a 10-wicket loss for the first time in their cricketing history. The blacks also humiliated the Aussies by "black washing" them in the Chappell-Hadlee series. Does this all mean that the New Zealander's have the arsenal to take their first world cup? Will they be able to break their jinx of not having played in a world cup final till now? The lack of depth in their bowling will prove to be this team's Achilles heel and would prevent them from going all the way.

Strengths:
1) Captain Stephen Fleming's ability to marshal's his resources brilliantly
2) Shane Bond's pace
3) Their desire to take home the world cup

Weaknesses:
1) Lack of quality spin bowlers
2) Question mark over Jacob Oram's return
3) Ability to handle the pressure at the fag end of the tournament

Position after Super 8 stage:
5 or 6(Five or Six)

The squad:
Stephen Fleming(Captain), Shane Bond, James Franklin, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Michael Mason, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent

Expert Speaks: Vamsi's Take

License to Thrill!

All it takes for a team to realize that there is no pressure on it whatsoever that its players start playing with their true potential. This lack of pressure can come in two ways, either you have a world class team and there is no chance you can lose, or you are playing against one and the odds are all against you. This was the kind of approach that ensured the Kiwis go on to give the world champions the kind of drubbing they haven't tasted in close to a decade. It is true that the Aussies weren't playing with half their normal side, but then it wasn't the full Australian bowling squad that defeated India and WI in Malaysia and also, it needs a determined effort from the whole team when you are chasing two 300 plus totals in crunch situations. And then you have Bond, who ripped apart the Australian line-up in the first match of the series.

But then, what are New Zealand's chances for the upcoming world cup? The good news part of it for New Zealand ends up with Craig McMillan, who's proven again that a break from cricket can bring out the best in you, and Shane Bond, who's immaculate pace has undone the best of teams. Their team has been one of the worst hit by injuries and surprise retirements. NZ would have loved to have Nathan Astle in their line-up given the state of WI pitches and his retirement couldn't have come at a worst possible juncture for their team, pschologically. But given Astle's recent form, it wouldn't be such a big blow. His retirement might provide a youngster the opportunity to come in and play with the same zeal and enthusiasm that Astle showed in his first tour of WI back in 1996.

NZ team has always comprised of its mix and match of all rounders, Chris Cairns and Chris Harris being two striking names, who could carry their team out of trouble single-handedly. Ever since their retirement, they have been unable to find any suitable replacements. Jacob Oram is one man who has been able to stand up to the opposition and has shown his ability to fight,more out of dogged determination than skill, and surely his experience with the bat and ball will come in handy. But then, he has been on the active injury list for NZ for quite sometime now, and how he shapes up after his break remains to be seen.

NZ have a lot of problems to resolve before the start of this world cup. Their biggest headache will be their inability to adapt on sluggish pitches. Their last two home series have been a great success but it should be realized that NZ has always been a strong team against any opposition at home. Their team has been playing extremely well on bouncy tracks and small grounds and are definetely gonna come a cropper when it comes to playing on slow pitches and against quality spin teams, as Srilanka and India showed them previously. The only area where they have no trouble whatsoever is in the area of fielding. They do not have a stable batting line-up and their bowling starts and ends with Bond. Coming to Bond, who's pace and swing have the knack of troubling the best of batsmen, I cannot remember a single series that has him playing in all the matches in the past 18 months, for he has always attracted injuries on himself. Their spin options end with Daniel Vettori, which is not a bad sign, for they might not need more than one spinner in the team.

Coming to their strengths, which aren't many, with the most experienced captain of three world cups, Stephen Flemming is probably looking at his last world cup as a player and a captain and he would definetely want to finish it on a high, but there aren't many players around him who can carry the burden of the innings under trying conditions. Craig McMillan and Scott Styris can support him in the batting department, and then there is inexperience. Bowling will depend completely on the availability of Shane Bond, and Daniel Vettori has a decent role to play as well. And if Vettori can be used properly in the batting order, he can be a handy batsman in this tournament. Overall, in order for NZ to excel in this world cup, they will certainly have to look towards the senior players to guide the new comers into defining their roles and giving them the freedom and responsibility. But then, when playing quality opposition, experience does come handy in alien conditions.

Finally, if this team starts playing with the confidence of dethroning the Aussies, they might be able to surprise a few teams in the tournament like they did to South Africa last world cup, but sadly that is about all you can expect from New Zealand.

World Cup Series -- Team England

It is indeed an irony that England, the ‘birthplace’ of cricket, has not won a world cup. Like everything else in their lives, cricket & cricketers are probably given more credit than they actually deserve. With a victory in the one day series over the Aussies secure in their kitty, the whole of England might have started ‘dreaming’ about the chances of their team winning their first world cup. A dream it would prove out to be for this England team lacks the depth & the firepower to go beyond the ‘Super 8’ stage of the tournament.

Strengths:
1) Andrew Flintoff
2) A fully fit Kevin Pietersen
3) The return of Michael Vaughan to the helm
4) The all-round talent of Paul Collingwood

Weaknesses:
1) Lack of quality fast & spin bowling
2) Limited all-rounders
3) A fickle middle order

Position after Super 8 stage:
8(Eight)

The squad:
Michael Vaughan(Captain), Ed Joyce, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ravi Bopara, Paul Nixon, Jamie Dalrymple, Liam Plunkett, James Anderson, Sajid Mahmood, Jon Lewis, Monty Panesar

Cricket World Cup 2007

With just 16 days to go for the world cup, it is proving highly irresistible for me to not blog something about cricket. Who has the best chance to win this world cup? Will the Aussies do what the Windies of the 70's were not able to achieve? Will the Aussies be able to prove everyone who has been shouting hoarse that their glory days are over wrong? Will Lara or Tendulkar help their team (And themselves, by the way) win the greatest one-day prize? Is the present England team capable of breaking their jinx of never winning a world cup this time? Which of the teams among Sri Lanka or New Zealand the dark horse of this tournament capable of producing some great upsets? Is any other team apart from the 8 top teams capable of making an impact/upset in the tournament? Does the present South African team have the mental edge to go all the way? What should be the expectation from the Indian team with the top order clicking and peaking at the right time?

Whatever the outcome of this tournament, it is going to be a great entertainer. So, lets enjoy the show!

Ohhh....... What a score

Just happened to see the scoreboard of the Mumbai (vs) Baroda ranji trophy semifinal match. What interested me in this news is the fact that the score card read 5-0 during Mumbai's second innings. Anyone who follows cricket would understand that it is normal to have a score of five for no loss at the beginning of an innings. The interesting part is that it is actually zero for five wickets. The top 5 batsmen of Mumbai scored a duck!!!! The other fascinating thing is that Mumbai went on to win this match. Is it that the ranji matches have become so competitive or is it because the standards have fallen so much? Knowledgeable folks, please help me out.

Being Freddie - My story so far -- Book Review

Introduction: It is an irony that I get to read the autobiography of Flintoff and his accounts of the 2005 Ashes series triumph when the England team led by him just suffered the ignominy of suffering a white wash in their 2006 Ashes series. Andrew Flintoff (popularly known as 'Freddie') should have been eager to capitalize on the popularity of the ashes triumph and seems to have come up with this book for just that purpose.

Narration Style: At the beginning of the book when Freddie says that things like bowling, batting & playing chess came naturally to him, I felt that he was trying to blow his own trumpets a bit too much. As the book progressed, I understood that he was very candid & the initial statements were more of a direct way of putting things across. The frankness with which he admits some of his mistakes on & off the field make Freddie very endearing. If you weren't a big fan of Freddie already, you would surely become one after reading this book. He gives us accounts of his cricket playing days from the age of six and his phenomenal rise till the ashes series where he won the man-of-the-series award in a lively & humorous manner.

Negatives: One of the major problems of the book is the lack of a personal touch. The book, at best, appears to be a tour diary than an autobiography. Freddie never deals with the emotional turmoils that he has surmounted during his off-days & also during the emotionally draining ashes series. I can understand when he doesn't talk about his family to a great extent but what beats me is the lack of description of the inner battles that he has won during his rise to the stature of a superstar in England. His openness and some interesting anecdotes prevent the book from becoming an absolute waste of time.

Bottomline: You would probably be better of reading various cricket news in the net & in the paper than reading this book. They would give you as much or maybe more information about cricket at the highest level than this book.

Trivia: Do not miss out on what Freddie has to say about Ganguly. You can read about it here.

Flintoff on Ganguly

Just completed the book "Being Freddie -- by Andrew Flintoff" and he has some really harsh comments on Ganguly. The exact text on how Flintoff feels about Ganguly is given below. (I have removed stuff that were more of a general observation & just quoted the lines pertaining to Ganguly)

After that one day series I returned to Lancashire where it was clear Ganguly was not settling in at Old Trafford....... Ganguly just didn't work out at all. You can accept a player not playing well, because we all have our ups & downs in our career, but he just didn't want to get involved. He wasn't interested in the other players and it became a situation where it was ten players & Ganguly in the team. He turned up as if he was royalty - it was like having Prince Charles on your side. There were rumors he was asking people to carry his coffin (The cricket kit) for him, although he never asked me...........

His first game was at Kent and he got out first ball lbw to Mark Ealham. He came in not looking that bothered and we heard that Paul Nixon, the Kent wicket-keeper, had said something to him along the lines of 'hard luck, first ball and all that'. Ganguly turned around and told him, 'I'm not going to waste my runs on these games. I'll save them for when it matters'. That's fine if he wants to be like that, but then why bother coming to Lancashire - he doesn't need the money......... I don't dislike the bloke, but it's a struggle with him.

The rather surprising thing for me is that "The Hindu" has this article but has blissfully ignored the comments made by Ganguly to Ealham probably for the fear of inciting the public.

To be fair to Ganguly, here is an article saying the exact opposite of what Flintoff had to say. I guess it is up to each one of us to believe what we 'want' to believe!!!

Ganguly Revisited

Ohh well............ Eating my own words is not something that I really fancy doing but I am left with no other choice. With Ganguly turning out to be the 'Highest' run getter and proving his worth (On his commitment, the jury is still out), I am forced to take back my previous comments on his inclusion to the test side.


The debate would invariably now start on having Ganguly for the one-dayers & especially for the world cup. At the risk of having to eat my own words at a later point of time, I do not want him in the side. Assuming that Yuvraj singh would be back in the squad & Kaif also 'Re-discovering' his form soon, I am not able to fit Ganguly in the scheme of things for the world cup & beyond.

I have one another reason for not having him in the side for the world cup. It is the rather sad fact that India doesn't have a realistic chance of winning the coveted trophy this time around. I would be happily surprised if we even make it to the semifinals. Having said that, it would be wise on the part of the selectors to start grooming the side for the future. With the future world cup's in mind, the selectors can start picking up people who can make use of this world cup as a learning experience.

India, Way to GO.................

Thank God. I was following the cricket score on cricinfo & luckily was not watching the match in TV. Irrespective of whether we win the 3rd test or not against South Africa, there are quite a few points that did leave me wondering whether we are good enough to win this series (Whether SA is good enough is another story altogether!!!)

1. The rationale behind sending Sehwag to open the innings with Jaffer. If Dravid & Co. thought that Sehwag had regained his 'form' because of his first innings score, how mistaken they were. It shouldn't be forgotten that when Sehwag was batting, the ball was not new & he could easily score his runs
2. If the rationale for the above was that of playing 'Positive' cricket, what was it all about with Dravid & Sachin playing as though they were playing to save the side from a irrecoverable defeat. Beats my thinking
3. Run-out in a test match is considered a crime. And 2 run-outs in an innings is simply blasphemous
   

Here is someone who has captured my 'feelings' in a much much better way. And yeah, I still hope that 'Jumbo' Kumble would come up with 'The' spell of his lifetime and take India to an improbable victory. So much for my 'Positive' attitude.

Sourav is 'Back'!!!!!!

Tch Tch Tch.......... Why is my blog turning into a 'Cricket' blog??? And why do I have to write (Of all the things) about what is wrong with having Ganguly in the Indian team???? Tch Tch Tch!!!!

Let me begin with making a few things clear right upfront:

1) Ganguly is a very good batsman & a decent bowler. No doubts on that
2) He is the most 'Successful' Indian captain and is a natural leader. No doubts on that as well

With the above facts in place, why do I still have a 'Bad' feeling about having Ganguly in the team? It is for the simple reason that he is also a very shrewd 'Politician' who can (and has been known to) break havoc in the dressing room with his 'cheap' tricks. This is one of the primary reasons he found himself at loggerheads with Chappell. There are so many examples of sports persons who are extremely talented & still end up sitting it out because of their attitudes and loud mouths (Remember Terrell Owens of the Eagles?). Ganguly is no different when it comes to attitude and creating rifts in the team.

The things that 'can' happen when Ganguly takes up the field with the Indian team are:

1) He can polarize the team with two different factions, one supporting him & the other supporting Dravid & Chappell
2) He can play a selfish game where he is totally not concerned about the final outcome of the test series but hangs on to his place in the team by scoring runs and taking wickets

The above said things are a definite 'NO NO' for any team and it does not look too good for the Indian team who are really going through a very bad patch at this stage. All that I can do at this stage is hope that my 'Gut' feeling about our Dada are wrong and that the Indians make a turn around in their fortunes with Ganguly. All The Best, Guys!!!!!