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.

Firstly, apologies for the long absence. I have been very busy with work and did not have much time to blog forcing a break of sorts.

Coming back to the topic at hand.. strong and diverse opinions are usually among sports fans and in sports columns on who should be the sports person of the year around this time of the year. for 2006 though, the answer seems obvious as Roger Federer has had a near perfect year with 3 grand slam wins and a dream win-loss record of 92-5. Yet, we find sports awards going to people other than Roger Federer and some people are, as a result, not happy about this. Chris Baldwin of travelgolf.com writes:

…athlete of the year deserves to go to …, the most dominant athlete in any sport. That without question is tennis’ Roger Federer….

Tiger Woods winning AP Male Athlete of the Year only proves how embarrassingly provincial Americans can be. Too bad there aren’t enough U.S. sports fans like Tiger and me who can see the entire sports world.

It is no secret that this is true regarding Americans, particularly where sport is concerned. They focus mostly on US sports and hardly on sports from around the world. However, I do not see why this should be a reason to be agitated about. English football fans focus much more, or in a lot of cases, almost entirely on their own league. Even when we analyse teams sports fans follow, a lot of people only keep indepth track of their own team and not the entire league be it any sport. The basic nature of sport is that you root for you own team and revel in the roller coaster ride following a team provides.

When a sports award does the same, it shouldn’t cause any alarm. The Associated Press has been awarding the Americans for many years now and it is nothing new. BBC gives out a similar award and to compensate, they also gives out the overseas version.

Perhaps it is best that we accept there will be natural bias in awards, one which any group or panel cannot avoid. Even the Laureus award conferred by a very international panel cannot be said to be unbiased. We do not have a nominee from each country in the panel and each member of the panel cannot be expected to know the weightage of each achievement in various sports. If we look at the award winners, they are popular sports persons from more main stream sports. It is arguably the best award out there and yet it cannot be said that it can be bereft of biases.

Awards help celebrate sporting achievements and that should be that. The real trophies have already been won - on the sporting field.

Fifteen years ago, upon their re-induction into cricket, South Africa played it’s first match in international cricket after a gap of 21 years and 8 months in Eden Gardens, Calcutta. Incidentally, it was also the first cricket match I viewed. The ticket pronounced an India-Pakistan match – Pakistan were due to tour India but had cancelled it due to increasing communal tensions. It meant that the world got the first view of the likes of Andrew Hudson, Peter Kirsten, Brian McMillian, Dave Richardson and South Africa’s greatest fast bowler post re-induction yet and arguably their greatest in history - “white lightning” Allan Donald. Kepler Wessels, who would go on to captain South Africa in their first test back in the international arena, had played for Australia earlier of course.

Back in 1991, as a nine year old, Rice and Cook reminded me more about food than cricket and Donald flashed Disney’s Donald Duck character in my head. Memorable Allan Donald versus Michael Atherton battles were yet to imprint permanent marks. The match itself was not particularly exciting. Wisden reports that the game started at 9 A.M. – a full twenty minutes earlier than the usual scheduled start of games at Eden Gardens - which meant batting was much more difficult in gloomy, cold and swing friendly conditions. South Africa were found wanting and managed only 177 in 47 overs (reduced). The trio of Kapil Dev, Prabhakar and Srinath exploited the conditions to finish with a total of five wickets in 29 overs giving away only 88 runs.

Kepler Wessels managed very slow 50 runs off 90 balls before he was bowled by Tendulkar. There was another player who reached a respectable 43 in that game. Adrian Kuiper was 32 and his best years were already behind him. Yet, he managed to give me my first lesson in cricket. Kuiper hit the only six in the South African inning and the Eden Gardens record crowd – knowledgeable and appreciative of good cricket at large - stood up to applaud the six. As a nine year old, I didn’t know the meaning of applauding good cricket or sportsmanship yet and asked my cousing brother “why applaud an opponent?” I did stand up and clapped and learnt a small but crucial aspect of the gentleman’s game that day.

India chased down that target in merely 40.4 overs and even though they lost 7 wickets, it was a comfortable victory. Sachin Tendulkar – another name which meant little back then, hit one of his many fast paced one day 50s which charecterised Tendulkar as a one day player back then but it was another unfancied Mumbai player who caught my attention. Pravin Amre was the other half centurian in that Indian innings. While Sanjay Manjrekar was the technician, Tendulkar was the stroke maker and Azharuddin was the master in placement, Pravin Amre was the style guru for me back in the day.

Lips tightly clenched, eyes wide open, Amre would hit the bat on the pitch very hard several times after he would take guard and as the bowler would run in to bowl. He would then hit the most audacious shots non chalantly. Hitting the pitch hard signified in a raw manner grittiness and intent to not throw his wicket away. Value for one’s wicket is a virtue I have always admired since then. Amre went on to make a 100 on test debut at bouncy Durban of all places and he would remain a hero despite being dropped after a string of poor performances. The man who made the biggest impression on that winter day at Eden Gardens was Allan Donald with his five wickets. Taking the first three wickets of Shastri, Sidhu and Manjrekar, Donald put India in a spot of bother. Twenty for three is not a score you can be comfortable with even when chasing only 177. Donald would go on to take 602 international wickets in total but he will not forget those 5 wickets he took on 10th November, 1991. Neither will this cricket addict who was hooked to cricket on that memorable day 15 years ago.

Reports are suggesting ICC has decided to remove Hair from the ICC panel of elite umpires. The above video has Hair saying “the ICC is with me“. Not any more it seems. Any way, loved this video and hope you enjoy it as well even though parts are not in English.

Update: The initial reports are true.