Archive for August, 2005

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The la liga starts.. again

Thursday, August 25th, 2005

After the joy of watching Barca play beautiful one touch football under Rijkaard, I cant wait for the first game on Saturday. Apart from the magic of Ronaldinho, I am looking forward to seeing Van Bommel in his first la liga match for Barca.

The first port of call for the Catalans will be Mendizorroza stadium, home of newly promoted Alaves and the league’s second smallest venue with a capacity of 19,000.

Madrid is looking more knit than last season with the likes of Baptista and Robinho. Can they pose a serious challenge? I certainly hope so as it would lead to a good battle as to who finally ends up the champions.

Also, I really hope Barca can win the Champions league this season and show every one what a great team they are.

Posted in FC Barcelona, Football, Spanish la liga | No Comments »

Tense Australia

Thursday, August 25th, 2005

With McGrath out of the 4th test, Australia decided to go with 4 regular bowlers which meant Ponting had to share the burden of the attack. That England have not amassed a huge total and lost 4 wickets is the good luck of Australia, helped by the rain no doubt.

I do not see England losing this match without doing some really stupid stuff.

Its a tough few days in the office for Australia.

Posted in Ashes 2005, Australian Cricket, Cricket, English Cricket | No Comments »

Why not a 5th bowler for the Aussies

Wednesday, August 24th, 2005

The more I think of it, the more I feel Australia should play 5 bowlers in the 4th test. Bowling wins test matches and to get 20 wickets a line up of McGrath, Gillespie(before he went out of form), Lee/Kasporwicz and Warne looks strong.

But a line up of a dicey McGrath, Lee, Warne and Tait does not.

Should Australia go with MacGill despite the curator saying it wont support the spinners or Kasporwicz as a 5th bowler? If the Aussies feel the pitch has some thing for the spinners, I would have chosen MacGill as the 5th bowler.

I know the long tail becomes a problem. But equally big if not bigger is the problem of a high probability that Australia will not be able to take twenty wickets with an attack of McGrath (not fully fit), Tait (untested), Warne and Lee (unpredictable).

Really underlines the problem Australia is facing.

highly unlikely the Aussies will go with 5 bowlers though.

Posted in Ashes 2005, Australian Cricket, Cricket | No Comments »

Chelsea looking strong

Wednesday, August 24th, 2005

It was just West Brom but the display by Chelsea versus West Brom was impressive. Wright Philips was fast and persistent. Makelele and Lampard were strong. I thought Ession showed a bit of inexperience but did not lack in enthusiasm. Drogba is some one I am not hugely impressed by. Maybe try Crespo more for a while.

Barcelona start their Spanish league defense over the weekend and they have a stronger side.

Will we have another Chelsea versus Barca clash with a stronger team for both squads? The prospect with a hopeful Barca victory makes me smack my lips!

Posted in English Football, Football | No Comments »

The most awaited match in years

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2005

The hype surrounding the Ashes has been proven to be real. With 3 tests gone and the score tied at 1-1, the 4th test is one of the most awaited test matches. I certainly cannot remember a match for which I have had more anticipation in my 14 years of cricket watching.

Champion teams have had their eras in test history. When Australia beat the West Indies in West Indies in 1995, they started their era as test champions ending a 20 year reign of the West Indies. I still do not fathom the current English team will be able to win the Ashes. But the possibility is very real. It is this possibility which elevates the 4th test of the current Ashes series to another level.

Can England win the 4th test? Or will Australia bounce back stronger than before? I am of the belief the second possibility will occur. But cricket is an unpredictable game.

England will not be proclaimed world champions isntantly. But if they beat Australia in England and then go on to show mettle in their winter tours of Pakistan and India, there will be many who will believe England is the best team in the world.

If England cannot manage to win or draw the Ashes, such thoughts of England replacing Aussies as world champs will be put to the trash can. This is why the match is eagerly anticipated. It has much more at stake than the outcome of a single match.

Posted in Ashes 2005, Australian Cricket, Cricket, English Cricket | No Comments »

On World XI selection

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2005

The test squad to play Australia in the Super Series is strong. Perhaps Kaneria instead of Vettori would be more apt. And perhaps English fans would want a few more poms in the team. I am happy Tendulkar makes the teams and sense prevails and the world XI selectors show more sanity than the Joe on the street who doubts Tendulkar.

My more bigger complain: The exclusion of Inzamam-Mr. Cool-ul-Huq.

A superb 6 day match is in prospect.

Posted in Cricket | No Comments »

Miandad persists on Karachi

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2005

The only way left is to boycott the Karachi one dayer. Miandad has requested fans to not go to the stadium to watch the match.

I certainly will not be watching the match on tv.

Posted in Cricket, English Cricket, Pakistan Cricket | No Comments »

Why not a Wisden International

Monday, August 22nd, 2005

I bought the Latest Wisden, the second Wisden I have bought since buying the Millenium Edition of the Almanack. The articles in the first half are firthright as usual. But my complaint with national cricket almanacks is always the same. 60-70 percent of it goes in focussing on a specific nation. Wisden launched Wisden Australia 7 years ago which contains Australian cricket in depth.

An innovative book, with the articles, the tours and more focus on records would be apt. The number of articles can be increased and player profiles of all current players and not of one specific country (like English internationals in Wisden) could heighten the appeal.

Posted in Cricket, Indian Cricket | No Comments »

Ashes and Football

Sunday, August 14th, 2005

Between work 10 AM to 8 PM the sport action I have been able to catch up has been the excellent Ashes contest and the football.

The Ashes have truly surprised me. I did not give the English a chance to win even a test even though I was sure they would give a good fight. I have never seen a close Ashes contest and feel luck I am able to catch the best Ashes contest since 1989.

I managed to catch three Premiership games over the weekend. Liverpool and Gerrard could not score but I liked the well fought out match nevertless. Arsenal vs Newcastle was scratchy but the backup strength of Arsenal looks good. Chelsea vs Wigan was a classic and a heartbreak when Crespo scored.

Too bad the net connection in my room has been non existant for the past few days resulting in a dormancy in posts in the blog. (

Posted in Ashes 2005, Cricket, English Football, Football, General Stuff | No Comments »

Ganguly being marginalised by ICC?

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005

I have been very busy with work and have not been able to catch a lot of sports. I do not care much about one day cricket which means no real interest to catch the Indian Oil Cup being held in Sri Lanka.

I heard Raina played well in the little time he spent in the crease and fielded superbly which makes me glad. But the news of interest is Ganguly not being consdered for even the first 20 for the Asia vs Africa match. Again the question raised by me earlier comes up. Why were the selectors for these matches not 1 member from the national selection boards of the concerned countries?

And is Habibul Bashar a better player than an out of form Ganguly. Why has Ganguly been treated like this? I do not think the conspiracy theory suggested by the article regarding Lloyd vs Ganguly in an earlier Asia selection holds much ground. But in this instance the reason for Gangul not being there looks to have deeper connotations. He may not be a great test player but there is no dounting his one day credibility.

Posted in Cricket, Indian Cricket | No Comments »

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