Sehwag, Pathan were poor but weren’t dropped till very late and after Pathan was brought back, we might bring back Sehwag as well. The selection committee under More had erred while picking the teams. Indian preparation for the world cup has been left till too late.. We have to resort to try out Uthappa right now and even if he has a few good innings and a few bad ones, we cannot assess his reliability as we would like. Then there is Gambhir of course.

That many players were pretty poor in the last 18 months holds little weight because the team management and selectors were pretty rigid regarding specific players (Ganguly comes to mind instantly as does Kumble) when they should have tried the players who had been too good to ignore in the past or who looked promising enough. Australia rested a few players for the Champions Trophy for instance to get their team right as they approached the world cup.

Now, we have this situation where two players - Pathan is being tried again and Sehwag might be played as well just because we do not know how x y z players are because there isn’t much time to give x y z players a proper run. The Indian selection policies over the past 18 months or so have been a joke. I am blaming the Kiran More lead committee and not the Vengsarkar lead committee here.

The Vengsarkar lead selection committee are fixing the damage as much as possible and have done a good job of it. They brought back players, have tried people (even Jaffer in South Africa was at least an attempt to get things right). Some things have clicked while others haven’t and that is fair enough. What isn’t fair though is that crucial world cup spots like who will open will be decided based on what pans out in the next four games versus Sri Lanka.

It is an emotional roller coaster the youngsters particularly could have done well to do without because such shorter runs harm more than build players. That the moves of the new selection committee seem to be working is a very good sign though and augurs well for India for the world cup. It is a circus Indian cricket would have done well to avoid.

Here’s what my team would look like -

AC Gilchrist
SR Tendulkar
IVA Richards
BC Lara
RT Ponting
MG Bevan
Imran Khan (c)
RJ Hadlee
CEL Ambrose
J Garner
Murali

Some spots were easy to fill in while others had close competition. Gilchrist and Tendulkar opening is a dream pairing at the top. Richards at number 3 has extra ordinary stats and he walks into the team as well.

Lara is a much better batsman statistically at number 3 and Ponting bats higher up as well. However, some accommodations have to be made given that it is a world XI and all the best players cannot bat in their favorite positions. Dean Jones just misses out.

Bevan at six walks right into the team as well. Maybe Hussey will challenge Bevan for this spot after a few years (or some one else in the all-time XI) but right now, it is too early to consider Hussey.

For the all rounder of the team, Imran Khan brings much more to the table compared to a Kapil Dev, Chris Cairns or even some one like a Lance Klusener. That he was an inspirational leader and would be the automatic choice to captain the team adds further weight to his selection.

The bowling spots provided a bit more stiff competition. I went for Hadlee, Ambrose, Garner and Murali ahead of McGrath, Akram, Warne and Saqlain. I cannot look past Ambrose and Garner. The mean and tall bowlers would never give an easy run (as evident by their economy rates). Bowling together, they would be capable of causing problems to most opposition.

Then, there is Hadlee v Akram. Hadlee’s ODI bowling is phenomenal as is Akram’s. Hadlee’s stats: Ave of 21.56 and eco of 3.30. Now even in an era where runs were not scored that fast, an economy of 3.3 is amazing, not to forget the average. Add to that, the batting of Hadlee is stronger (batting average - 21.61). Hadlee offers more than Akram for me. Given also that the tail of my team is pretty weak batting wise (Ambrose, Garner, Murali), some one like Hadlee at 8 is a better option.

Where the spinner’s spot is concerned, Saqlain could have been in with a real chance had he played much more. Where Murali v Warne is concerned, it is a close call. Warne brings in more to the team in the batting department. However, Murali’s bowling average (23.07) compared to Warne’s (25.73) sneaks it for Murali.

The one possible weak aspect of the team is less variation in the fast bowling department. Akram could make the ball talk even on the flattest of wickets while McGrath could test the best of the batsmen not just because of pace. I decided to go in with what I thought would be the most dangerous bowling attack. The Windies of the 70s and 80s didn’t have that much variety in their attack but they did the job.

However, on a subcontinent or a flattish wicket, where tail batting would not be needed as much, I could probably replace Hadlee and bring in Akram and McGrath for Hadlee and Ambrose respectively. Similarly, on a pitch where quite a few wickets are likely to fall and where a bit more spine in the tail is needed, Warne could replace Murali.

There would always be Jonty Rhodes as the 12th man of course.

Andy Murray has done a lot of things in his young tennis career till now. He won the US Open boys title as a kid, was Great Britain’s youngest ever Davis Cup player, reached the third round of Wimbledon 2005 after being given a wild card, has won 1 ATP title already (San Jose, US beating Hewitt in the final in February 2006) and has been on the improve in his young career - his grand slam career record so far for instance.

In the loss against Nadal today in the 4th round of the Australian Open, Murray had amazing reach and showed great court presence. The serves and the reach exist for many big guys but the court presence is much rarer. Both players weren’t playing to their best and had poor return of serves and committed quite a few unforced errors. Till the middle of the fourth set, Murray was giving Nadal as good as he got and was even hitting more winners than Nadal. After that, Nadal’s fitness and experience was the difference as Nadal won the fourth and steam rolled through in the fifth (even though the games were very close).

Give it a couple of years and the Murray game could mean that he has an edge over many opponents. Murray could do a lot of damage when Wimbledon comes along even this year though I am not sure that he would have it in him to win just yet. If he carries on the way he is developing, there is no reason why Andy Murray will not be a legitimate challenger at Wimbledon for many years to come - he has the perfect game for it. He should also do quite well at other grand slams and tournaments in time as well and is definitely a top 5 material.

A lot of people think the punishment given to Gibbs is too strong (which he has appealed against incidentally). A case can very well be made that a two match ban may or may not be very harsh but from where I sit, an international cricketer should be sensible enough to know what he says and if he says some thing which can have an implication of having a racial under current, it is needed that there is some strong punishment meted out.

Racism, even the hint of it, has to be kicked out of sport and I would have been unhappy with any thing less than a 1 match ban. That it was a two match ban and it has been brought into spotlight means that cricketers will think twice before bringing racism into sport. I mentioned regarding India in my earlier post and far too often they have not made big deals and I am glad Pakistan has here and all the more, action has been taken.

If the offense was not racism, there could be reason for it to be analysed seeing intent. Dean Jones got a tough punishment it may seem but racism is a grave and so the action was needed there as well. Just because Jones was stupid did not mean he didn’t deserve to lose his job or Gibbs didn’t deserve to get a severe punishment.

I can see why some people might feel the punishment is too harsh given he might not have intended to say such a thing or didn’t intend to say such a thing in the context it was taken. However, the implications, as it is with most racial slurs, cannot be ignored and so I am happy with the two match ban.

A minor controversy has emerged in cricket with South Africans allegedly racially abusing Pakistani players. The South African officials are saying that the phrase used was they’re like animals... Footage shows that the exact phrase used also included go back to your zoo with plenty of expletives in between though it is not clear on whom the insults were directed at.

I don’t see why a player has to crop abusive behaviour on the field just because he is playing cricket. I don’t see tennis players mouthing off against each other for example and I don’t see it in any sport at least as openly as I see in cricket. Isn’t tennis a professional sport as well?

Kallis called an Indian batsman (I think it was Dravid) you *abuses* Indian during the recent South Africa-India series. Now why should a player tolerate such nonsense just because he is playing cricket?

I have been a long term advocator of playing cricket with the bat and the ball instead of the mouth and even though I might be in a minority, I feel firmly on the topic. I don’t see why sledging should be passed as part of the game.

Friendly banter is okay but sledging, particularly the racial kind, is not required in sport.

Update: Cricketvideosunplugged has the video of the incident.

A lot of people have been shocked at the price tag, particularly as it is felt that Beckham is not worth the money where worth on the field is concerned. LA Galaxy certainly feels differently and Beckham and LA Galaxy feel it is going to be beneficial move for both the parties concerned, I do not see why people should moan over the money Beckham will get.

A common refrain would be - he is not that good a player any more and so it is bad sign that a player not that good can command so much money because of his brand name, selling shirts and all that jazz. Brands exist in every thing and modern sport is business as well. So, if a club feels that they can make money because of the brand name of a player, it is not a huge talking point for me.

Eventually, in the long run in any business, if performances aren’t there, profits and brand names cannot last. In some cases, brands get fanatical support and performances do not matter as much - which is where the complains come in. As long as a football team looks at putting the best XI in the football field and does not pressurise a manager to put some one in the field based on how many shirts he is selling, there is little reason to complain.

As far as this particular Beckham deal is concerned, it is very good over all for football as well as it is a given that Beckham will attract newer fans to the game in the United States and that can only be a good thing.

Real have had two manager changes in two years. After stumbling form, Capello is facing the pressure. While Real started off the season quite promisingly, it has all fallen in the past few games.

What ails Real? It is simple to point out attitude, lack of committment, superstars does not essentially mean a great team and millions of other things. However, if some one can actually reverse the Real situation, he would make a lot of money. So to actually solve the problems is a different ball game altogether.

Even as a Barcelona fan, it was sad to see Real stumble in their last encounter - against Deportivo. Now Deportivo is no world beater - they have been struggling this season and have conceded almost the double the number of goals they have scored. However, against Real Madrid, they looked like world beaters. Real kept giving away the ball and the defense was woeful. In the second goal Deportivo scored for instance, Cannavaro had the chance to clear the Deportivo attack twice. Deportivo could have have scored 3,4 or even 5 goals in the game. It was that poor a performance from Real.

The Spanish League needs a strong Real Madrid side. It means a strong competition with Barcelona which can attract so many people to the Spanish game. I am not that sure that a Real Madrid revival will happen quickly and I am not sure changes in managers which mean changes to the situation as the problem is much deeper. It needs to be addressed at so many levels right now. However, with the correct approach, I am sure that eventually, we can see a strong Real Madrid side. Again, I am not sure the fans or the media are that patient - another problem.

Every one expects China to do well in the 2008 Olympics including me. A question of course is ‘exactly how well will they do?’ How close will they come to the USA in the medals tally and will they even topple the USA?

China had a great Asian games but the people who matter are pushing the athletes much more. That is not all which is being done though. China is focussing on the grandeur as well - so the Olympic torch will climb the Everest. Beijing 2008 is being taken very seriously by China as we all know and we are seeing what China is doing towards this end as these news items come to the fore.

While Sydney 2000 was one of the most spectacular in recent Olympic history, Beijing 2008 might just be the most memorable. More than the boost to the rapidly growing economy, Beijing 2008 provides the chance for China to come closer to the world via the quickest of ways - sports. So, China should focus on building and growing upon an image which will reap tremendous long term returns.

The medals tally will be just one of the many things the world will be watching and how much China is able to to seize Beijing 2008 at this interesting juncture in it’s growth will be fascinating to follow.