A Little Some Thing for the Game

May 29th, 2013

What does cricket mean to you? Fours and sixes at eight; contest between bat and ball at twelve; access to great literature at sixteen. A forever love affair which keeps on growing.

Why should cricket be run by politicians and businessmen like Sharad Pawar, N. Srinivasan and Arun Jaitley. Have they shown any examples of their love of their game, like Vivek Ranadivé. Mumbai born Ranadivé is the major stake holder in the Sacramento Kings and before this, was co-owner of the Golden State Warriors. However, above all, he has been a basketball fan. Coaching your daughter’s basketball team to mindblowing success shows you at least know your basketball and have some thing for the game.

All we need as cricket fans, the true share holders of the game, is a little some thing, any thing, in the men who run sports including cricket in our country. Cricket is a sport which we so dearly love. A sport which we loved as we held our first plastic bats and hit the first plastic balls.

What has N. Srinivasan or Sharad Pawar done to show they have the love of the game in their heart?

Get people who we know have cricket in their hearts at the helm. The Golden Generation of Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Kumble and Laxman. Make them ‘the board’ because they have earned it through their blood, sweat and tears all their lives. They have all retired now. Their place belongs not in the commentary box being shut out. They have a much larger role to play.

Indian cricket must move forward from this mess and do away with the garbage.

Posted in Cricket, Indian Cricket | 2 Comments »

Golf and Life

April 17th, 2013

Awareness and adjustment, it is said time and again, are the two keys for winning golf tournaments. Unpredictability is more visible in golf than possibly any other sport. There is unpredictability of the weather. There is unpredictability of luck. If there is one constant in golf, it is change.

No two golfers face the same circumstances while they are hitting their golf balls, though they are in competing for the same title. Player A may face gushing winds on hole 7, while player B might face still weather on the same hole. Adjustment is a part of golf.

There were many marvels to gaze at from Augusta last week There was the brilliance of Fred Couples, the magnetism of Cabrera and the delightful story that was Adam Scott’s win. There was 14 year old Tianlang Guan, the youngest golfer to play at Augusta, making the cut on day 2 despite facing a one stroke penalty too.

However, for me, the best part of Augusta last week was seeing the reactions of the golfers after they made their blunders. There were many, for Augusta is a tough, tough course. If you don’t bogey or double bogey through the entire four days at Augusta, it would be a miracle. It is a course which tests the most chiseled of pros. And yet, after the blunders, many of the golfers usually kept their composure and were able to take it in their stride. One bad stroke or a bad run of luck was not going to end up being a factor compared to if they lost their semblance. This is some thing golf teaches them time and again, day in and day out.

The reactions, when they did come, were brief. Cabrera threw his golf stick in the air, twirling it when he hit a particularly bad stroke. A small burst to take up all the negativity. A second later though, he was calm again. The next hole had to be dealt with. Two minutes later, you could see the Cabrera walk with the usual bustle of a Cabrera walk.

Life’s like that.

Posted in Golf | No Comments »

Wisden turns 150

April 14th, 2013

On the day the English county season began, Wisden launched it’s 150th edition. Published annually, the Bible of Cricket, is the last word on the game. While earlier, the last word meant that it settled arguments where the statistics of the game were concerned, now, the last word has more to do with opinion.

There is no real last word in opinions and views per say, particularly in this day of instant views via mediums like twitter. However, the importance of the Wisden comment cannot be overly emphasised. The journalism of Wisden is precise, succinct and informed. It is not afraid to give strong remarks. The eight to ten pages of the Notes of the Editor of the time is a document which holds value for the present time and also for the generations ahead. This is because not only are the views coming from a deep knowledge base, it is with a good of the game at it’s heart.

But beyond the Notes by the editor, Wisden has many more pages. 1500 plus of them now. A long way from the 112 pages of the first edition could fit in a pocket. The match reports, the obituaries, the cricket beyond the test world, the book reviews, the English cricket section, the records section are just some of the highlights.

The reporting stands the test of time. If Wisden has mentioned that there was swing on offer which lead to a flurry of wickets in a test match, you take it as fact, not opinion. That is the biggest compliment one can give the trust Wisden has garnered through year after year of service to cricket. They even have an errata page each year which points to the smallest of errors they may have made in a statistic, some thing most wouldn’t notice.

My love affair with Wisden started with the Millenium edition: the 2000 one. Along with the 5 Cricketers of the Year, it had 5 Cricketers of the Century, Photograph of the Decade for each of the ten Decades of the century past. It even came with a companion book which in many cases you would have to buy now which had a piece or highlight from each of the 100 Wisdens of the previous century. It gave a nice glimpse into cricket in the previous century but also on how rich the history of Wisden has been. Reading a report of a Gentleman’s versus Players game has this quality to take you into a time past.

I have bought a fair few Wisdens after that. I scavenged old book stores in Calcutta and found a few older editions for earlier years, some of which I got at a bargain, others at a premium. It didn’t matter. I even took one to China when I went to visit it a few years back. The Chinese revolution in cricket, which many had anticipated at the time hasn’t happened. Maybe I should have left my copy there for people to catch the passion of cricket.

Posted in Cricket, English Cricket | No Comments »

The Barcelona Sneak-in

April 11th, 2013

An army without a general is no army in real terms. This was evident yesterday as Barcelona struggled for the first 60 minutes in the second leg of the Champions League quarter final at home versus Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

Barcelona made a tactical blunder by not starting with Messi. After a 2-2 in the first leg, Barcelona needed just a draw, provided it was 0-0 or 1-1, to go through. Given that the game was at home, Barcelona started favorites.

However, by starting off without Messi, Barcelona let that advantage go even before the first whistle blew. Without Messi, Barcelona had zero shots on target in the first half, left open spaces in attack and defense and was a side in disarray. That PSG did not score a goal or two was a case of PSG’s failing. PSG possibly got a belief too seeing Messi wasn’t there. In sport, you do not show opponents your weakness. The ability at the top is at a similar level a lot of times. The stronger mind usually wins.

Messi played the last 30 minutes. Instead, if he had played the first 30, and Barcelona had scored a goal or two in that period, PSG would have out for good barring some thing special from them. Being active and taking the game to the opponents would have been a better recourse.

Now, no one can gaze at a crystal ball and know for certain if Barcelona would have scored in the first 30, but it would have avoided the scenario of PSG scoring, and Barcelona having to sneak in a win via a resurgence in the last 30 minutes after Messi arrived. With Messi, Barcelona was different. The ball remained in the PSG side, and a lot of that near the PSG goal. Messi had a few touches but was not at his usual pace. He did create the pass to Villa, who had been lacklustre all night, who passed it back to Pedro. Pedro, who had been toiling through the game, even when there seemed little hope, netted it with a clean strike.

It is a mark of a top side to get the job done, even on days when things are stacked against them. One could argue that it often becomes more important to get it done on those days. Iniesta said later, “we knew this was going to be hard and we had to endure a bit to get through.” And endure, Barcelona did.

Barcelona becomes the first side ever to reach six consecutive Champions League semi finals. It is undoubtedly the greatest football side of the last decade and one of the greatest ever. This year, though Barcelona have been strong in La Liga, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich look more compact sides. If Barcelona do manage to win the Champions League, it will add to the sparkle and legend of the tiqui-taca magicians.

Posted in FC Barcelona, Football | No Comments »

Bring in Technology in Football

April 5th, 2013

The Barcelona-Paris Saint-Germain Champions League quarter final first leg played earlier this week in Paris was plagued by the off side equalizer by Ibrahimovic, seen above. It meant that the scoreline was 2-2 instead of 2-1 in favour of Barcelona. While Barcelona is still in a strong position given that the second leg is in Barcelona, this isn’t the first or the last time a team’s fortunes were changed by a blunder.

In another era, it would be acceptable as the referee had the best view. However, the ridiculousness of still going by the old rules here is that the people watching every where can clearly see in white and black where a goal has occurred and where it hasn’t many a times.

The Frank Lampard goal which was denied in 2010 World Cup quarter versus Germany is the most famous incident in recent times. FIFA is bringing in Goal Line Technlogy.

They should allow referrals, 2 per team, say, for goal related scenarios including off sides like for the Ibrahamovic goal above.

Careers and team destinies are involved. Why play with luck.

Also Read: High time we use technology and referrals in cricket (circa 2007), which have been included in most international cricket since then.

Posted in Football | No Comments »

Test Cricket, You Beauty

March 30th, 2013

Matt Prior played a masterclass.

England played New Zealand in a three match test series recently in New Zealand. If you are not a test cricket aficionado, you probably missed the series. These tests epitomised a lot of what is so brilliant about test cricket.

England visited New Zealand as the favorites for the test series. England had won a landmark test series in India, while their counterparts had been pulverised in South Africa. New Zealand had only ever won once at home versus England before, way back in 1984. After a poor year, England looked like a side back on the up.

This was to be a series which wouldn’t follow script though. England folded for peanuts (167) in the first dab. New Zealand had a huge lead of almost 300. England then battled hard with their openers, Alastair Cook, who became the latest batsman to be coined the best since Bradman, when New Zealand skipper McCullum annointed him as such, and new England test opener, Nick Compton, both making centuries, to salvage the draw. It was a rain affected game but not agonisingly so.

Rain was the man of the match in the second game, which had Compton score another century. England had a 200 plus run lead after the first innings this time but they didn’t really stand a chance against nature.

The build up was perfect then for the third test. As it does a lot of times (Ashes 2005 most famously) in memorable series’, a captain won the toss and chose to field first erronously. New Zealand made the most of it with Peter Fulton making a test century seven years after making his test debut. He was to make another one in the second inning. Then there was the golden boy, Kane Williamson, all of 22 years, who hit the sweetest, most delicious strokes for his near century (91).

Trent Boult showed he has lot more to offer to cricket with 6 wickets, getting swing, where English seamers including Anderson could not the previous day. With a lead of almost 250 and England having lost it’s main four batsmen at the end of the fourth day in the second hit, New Zealand looked favorites now. There was no way England could draw this. Or could they?

The Wagner pain.

What followed on the final day of the series was the most brilliant test cricket. Neil Wagner bowled his heart out. There is some thing about seeing a left arm seamer give it his all, and getting very little for it, which is beautiful in it’s slow pain. The pitch was flat as it could be offering little support but the New Zealand bowlers kept at it.

So, despite the conditions, England faced difficult bowling. They defied the odds and lasted 540 balls losing just 5 wickets. Had they lost another one, they would have lost the series. Ian Bell lasted 271 balls for his 75. Young Joe Root lasted 107 balls for his 29. Matt Prior was the hero remaining unbeaten on 269 balls, making a century in the process. Stuart Broad, who had thrown his wicket away in recent times slogging, lasted 77 balls for his 6 runs, getting off the mark off the 62nd ball he faced. Kane Williamson took two quick wickets just when it looked England would safely negotiate the remainder of the game. Monty dived epicly. New Zealand cheered when England scored a boundary which meant the tail ender had the strike, not Prior.

New Zealand could not take the last English wicket in the 19 bowls they had to take it though. Prior and the other English players exulted as the last ball was safely blocked by Prior. After 15 days and a 0-0 score line, one time was giddy with happiness at the heroic effort, while the other was deep in disappointment. Had this been the scoreline offered to both the teams before the series started, the reaction of the teams would have been polar opposite.

To put it simply, there is nothing like test cricket.

Also read:

Nothing beats Basin Reserve.
Fulton’s Seven Year Itch.

Pics courtesy: Cricinfo.

Posted in Cricket, English Cricket, New Zealand Cricket | No Comments »

The Pride Inducing Spirit of Muhammad Ali

January 21st, 2013

For starters, it is not possible to sum up, or even comprehend the spirit of Ali in it’s entirety, let alone sum it up in a few paragraphs. Here is just an attempt at the pride aspect looking at a few facets.

I watched When We Were Kings about the Rumble in the Jungle fight of 1974 between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, acclaimed as one of the greatest fights ever by many.

Muhammad Ali is shining, he is strong, he is smooth as grease, he is the epitome of sexiness. He is the prophet of the blacks. That’s what he is really. In all the clips from the past I have seen of Ali, Ali kept speaking. I could never make much sense of it. Here, I did.

He is an inspiration for the blacks and for the spirit of humanity at large. That’s what he is. Sure, slavery was abolished a few hundred years ago. Sure, blacks rose to success. How much of the dignity was restored though? Ali calls George Foreman ugly, like he did Joe Frasier at another time (the Joe Frasier remarks crossed the line but let’s not diverge). Now, he isn’t really calling Foreman ugly. What he is doing is saying, hey, I am black, I am beautiful. How’s that?

It is a big leap. The dignity is restored. Ali tells the blacks of Africa that they have a purity as they are not corrupted and have not lost their selves in America with the whites. Not only can one rise to any level of authority, one can take pride in one’s roots and one’s self. He takes a small girl in his arm, he hugs her. He is not only giving the blacks every where pride, he is giving the poorest of poor blacks of Africa courage to believe they are great, and can achieve things.

The fight itself which ensued, was very symbolic. Muhammad Ali is not as strong as George Foreman. Not by miles. He hits Foreman a few times in the first round but realises that he doesn’t have the muscle or power Foreman does. For seven rounds after that, he takes the punches, absorbs them by the rope-a-dope, or by leaning on the ropes. Then, he delivers the knock out punch. A boxing classic for the ages. It is more than that though. It is a metaphor for the journey of the African American, of the human race itself, of many groups of people or specific people as the case may be. As often is the case, great sports tends to transcend sports in many brilliant ways.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin’
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’.

Posted in Boxing | 3 Comments »

On Oprah-Armstrong and Cycling’s Future

January 18th, 2013

The Lance Armstrong interview taken by Oprah, the interview she says is the biggest of her career, is fascinating for a variety of reasons.

While, given for how much time Armstrong has lied, the amount he has lied, no one can really take any thing he takes without truckloads of salt. Once past this though, it becomes a study of character and personality. Armstrong says at the end of the interview that he would have gotten away had he not made his come back. That he was caught, and had no where to run, finally made him admit to his flaws. Lot’s of people are analyzing why he did the interview. Was it as part of some strategy, was it for money? I think it was the last attempt at scraping for whatever dignity he could scrape. He could scrape nothing.

Which brings me to the second amazing aspect. He keeps speaking during the interview. Possibly, he talked a lot of truth. However, he couldn’t get even a bit of compassion from any one. Armstrong remarks once during the interview that he talked with Betsy Andreu, the wife of one of the co-captain of Team Postal along with Armstrong, for 40 minutes but that is not going to repair the damage done. That holds good for Armstrong every where.

Armstrong sued and destroyed people financially for just telling the truth (See Betsy Andreu’s angry reaction here). There was a clip where Armstrong talks about the great sport cycling is after he won the 7th of 7 straight Tour De France. Oprah asks, what Armstrong is trying to do there. It is important to realize Armstrong not only sold a lie for a day. He sold it for his life. He wrote books, and inspired people, gave them hope.

The faith in Armstrong is shattered. The sport of cycling is tainted forever. There was the whole culture of doping in cycling in that era. All the winners and those who came second and third for a decade and more in cycling are in the list of who’s who of doping in the sport.

However, Armstrong stands out. He was the one who drew people to cycling, much like Tiger Woods did people to golf, or Michael Jordan did a few years before that, people to Basketball. These icons have a responsibility and how they carry that can often make or break the deep impact a sport is able to make apart from among the aficionados.

Cycling today appears completely clean. However, it doesn’t have the fandom or aura about it it once had. Not many will watch the Tour de France this year. It is a busy time for sport in the summer, with Wimbledon and test cricket. I will though. It is time for new beginnings as far as cycling is concerned. How these first steps are, can determine the rest.

Bye bye idolistic bullshit, hello cycling.

Posted in Cycling, Tour de France | 3 Comments »

Ricky Ponting and the Other Invincibles

December 2nd, 2012

Ricky Ponting lead Australia ably for seven years as test captain and nine years as one day captain. He also broke a trend where the Australian captain would retire and not continue playing under the new leader which happened like in the cases of Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh.

Ponting had the guts to carry on and risk being ridiculed and shunned off if he was poor. Australians are harsh with their past greats even when they are captain. How would Ponting be mocked if the public so decided, there was no saying. Ponting has never been one to back down because he could be ridiculed though.

Night club and bar escapades in Kolkata and Sydney questioned Ponting’s commitment. Worse still, when he became captain, people openly questioned his cricketing brain. If people were going to lay the final dagger and question his batting prowess, why would Punter shy away to maybe protect himself from that.

If you wanted to watch Ponting, the craftsman, the 2011/12 Australian season has to be definitive. In six tests, Ponting scored 643 runs at a little over 80 runs an inning.

I watched the entire first test between Australia and New Zealand last year. Ponting scored 78 in that test while Clarke scored 139, both at almost identical strike rates of 55. Which innings was more worth cherishing though cannot be expressed by stats. While Clarke pushed and nudged, Ponting’s inning was effortless. He touched the ball and it would go to the boundary. He commanded the ball, as it were, to go, run to the fence. It was as if the bat was a magic wand. The ball touches it and zips across to the boundary. Clarke had the same powerful bat. However, he couldn’t make the ball go off like that. While a Tendulkar and a Lara possessed style and artistry, Kallis and Dravid have the obsessive dedication about them which is loved, Ponting’s greatness has been how effortless he makes the whole thing look.

When Ponting bats, it is easy. It is as if the bowlers become poor and the pitch becomes a road. How many batsmen can you say that about? Lara and Tendulkar had great careers and for longevity, Tendulkar’s might been greater. However, it was Ponting who was the undisputed cricketer of the Decade when Cricinfo announced it for the first decade of the 21st century. As Rajesh expresses it statistically:

During that eight-year period between 1999 and 2006, Ponting averaged 50 or more against all opposition except Sri Lanka, against whom he averaged 47.09 in seven Tests. He was especially unstoppable at home, averaging 73.76 from 47 Tests. He wasn’t quite as prolific overseas, but still averaged an outstanding 56.55 in 40 matches.

You could bring any run machine from cricket history, Ponting would stand tall against all of them in his prime.

Ricky Ponting’s international career started in 1995. Australia had just become the world champions in test cricket a few months prior to that defeating the West Indies in their own backyard. While some players dream of becoming champions, Ponting started off part of the best test team in the world, already a champion in a way. The first test Australia played at home versus the West Indies in 1996, it was a young Ponting who scored 88, more than any one in the middle order at an impressive strike rate of 58 for that era. Take that 88 away, and you could have been looking at a different test and series.

Ponting helped Australia remain champions in test cricket for as long as they did. There were many other players. Warne, McGrath, Waugh, Hayden, Gilchrist and every one else. However, without Ponting, they were nothing. Steve Waugh couldn’t carry out his policy of attacking test cricket where Australia scored at 4-5 runs an over as a routine. It isn’t a coincidence that Australia’s fortunes as a test team has declined with the decline in Ponting’s batting.

Now, Clarke has been scoring truckloads, and another era has come.

When Ponting goes out to bat one last time, it is time to salute not just Ponting, but also a great era of test cricket and bid it good bye. They were the other Invincibles. There can be no greater tribute than that.

Posted in Australian Cricket, Cricket | 4 Comments »

Linsanity, Michael Chang and on Epic Starts

November 22nd, 2012

Jeremy Lin caused Linsanity last NBA season. He kept scoring and was the talk of the league initially. The most interesting part was that he was ignored by the so called experts and wasn’t selected earlier.

His performances were great. He was unstoppable. A bit of a gazelle.

You had a similar story with Michael Chang a bit more than 20 years back though Chang did have excellent juniors. Chang won the French Open, the most physically demanding tennis tournament at just 17. He reached the US Open final the same year. However, he reached just 5 more grand slam finals.

Lin is similarly averaging 10 points per game and giving in 30 plus minutes.

It is a huge let down though it seems. It isn’t though, is it really? Unless you are in the bracket of the greatest of great sports persons, like say Don Bradman or Sugar Ray, you are unlikely to average nearly 100 or win almost every thing.

Chang had an excellent career. Was a top 10 player for a large chunk. Lin doesn’t seem a bad player and can have a decent NBA career as well.

They will always be regarded as a bit disappointing. They aren’t though.

There is a peril then, in epic starts. Don’t tell it to Lin though. He is fine with it, I am sure, given how he has become a star in Taiwan and he gets the endorsements which he wouldn’t have.

Make an impact, when you can, I say then.

Posted in NBA | No Comments »

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