West Indies, the home team, are playing New Zealand at Antigua but strangely, there is negligible crowd in the stadum. It just isn’t right for a stage as big as the world cup. Modern sport’s money comes in through advertisements, sponsors and the television audience and the stadium audience forms a tiny fraction of the money generated. So organizers can feel that lower the number of crowds, lower the hassle.
This time, weird restrictions have been imposed about which Mark Nicholas and Tony Cozier were discussing during commetary. For instance, people cannot leave and comeback to the stadium if they feel. In a cricket match which spans 7 hours, this is impractical. Also, horns, honks and other musical instruments which bring in the flavor of a West Indies crowd have been disallowed.
Add to that, the ticket prices are pretty high and you know why more people are not coming into the stadiums. Atmosphere is vital in a sporting event. It is the third team out there which many people remember once the event is over and done with. A better way would be to lower prices and bring in more crowds. The younger generation should be tapped by allowing school children in for free for particular matches.
Regardless of how important or unimportant money from the stands is, where this aspect is concerned, the most vital point to take in stock should be how to fill the stands as much as possible.
Marlon Samuels is arguably the most talented batsman to emerge out of the West Indies in recent times. He is very stylish but adds a lot of substance along with it because of the talent he possesses - the perfect package whether you are a marketing man, a general fan or a purist who likes to see quality out there on the field.
At 26, Samuels can be termed an under achiever. He will play the most beautiful shots and deceive you into believing that you are in for watching some thing special before getting himself out. The test and one day averages of 28 and 30 respectively do not do his talent justice. In this, he has been following the path of V.V.S. Laxman and Carl Hooper.
However the good part is that he has time on his hand and seems to have finally turned the corner. The 63 off 70 balls in the inaugral world cup match was not out of the blue. In the 2006/07 season, Samuels has an average of 38 from 19 matches. It gets better if we consider only 2007 - an average of 51 from 5 matches which includes 3 fifties.
Crisis brings out the best in the mentally strong characters and the match fixing cloud may be a trigger for him to do greater things. With the likes of Bravo and Dinesh Ramdin, Samuels represents a core group of young cricketers who make you feel optimistic regarding West Indies cricket. They seem to have a fire in the belly which can transform the talented and gifted to performers on the world stage.
The last test match at ARG produced a draw. Little fun in draws usually at the ARG when you think of the boring ones we have had there. This one was different though. The match had two of three results possible, an Indian victory and a draw, which made it exciting till the last ball.
We saw Dave Mohammed take revenge for the bashing Dhoni gave him yesterday, adding to the legend of the guy with the cool name. Dave, or tadpole, as he is more popularly know by his cult following, kept making runs. That didn’t cause the torture though. The constant play and miss, topped by the stumping miss by Dhoni was the real sweet revenge.
My take - Firstly, Lara had no business interfering. Umpire’s decisions should be respected. Sadly though, Lara is likely to get away with a match fee cut, if at all, and nothing more.
Secondly, in the perspective of the match, it shouldn’t really matter as it is unlikely to come to six runs to decide the test match. So Dhoni did the right thing by ending the controversy then and there. Cricket can be funny and it will be hilarious if it ends up being a close thriller and those 6 runs could have had an impact.
In other cricket stuff, Murali has wielded his magic over the English once again. Read Zainub Razvi’s review of the match here.
I have been a huge Wasim Jaffer fan since forever. He has had a strange career really. For many seasons, he kept piling the runs but wasn’t picked. Then, when he was picked for his first stint in the team, he wasn’t in the best of form. He was also shown up against movement, paricularly versus the English. You have to make the little of the smallest opportunities you get in Indian cricket as there are so many players competing for spots.
Various sections of the media have highlighted how India has been superb of late in the one day arena. A few aspects have to be noted, though. India hasn’t faced the tough challenges till now. So it is too early to go euphoric over recent run of one day cricket victories. If any thing, we have we have even failed in instances where we shouldn’t have. With all due respect to the English side, why couldn’t India win convincingly versus an English side at home with half the English side missing? Time is asked because we are a young side. We were a young side in respects like bowling but weren’t the English side young and inexperienced as well?
Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of India’s test series in the West Indies. The decision was to be taken after a fitness test today. The decision has now been taken and it has been announced to the public.
…a well-placed source informed he’s going to make the Test squad.
“Sachin will be in the West Indies for the four-Test series… That’s a certainty,” the gentleman told The Telegraph on Monday.
It is evident now that however well placed the source, it wasn’t that well placed to provide the leak. Such reporting means that a newspaper can claim next day we told you so if the decision goes along the lines of their well placed sources. If it does not, they can always explain - that is if they bother to explain.
Now I am not questioning Telegraph’s credibility here. I am questioning why such an item makes a newspaper even if we assume it is from well placed sources? Shouldn’t statements be quoted only if people are named? Else it only leads to speculation and can encourage creation of false news all across by every other sports media. Not on according to me despite the obvious selling potential of such news, regardless of whether real or fabricated.
West Indies sees it’s first day-night cricket match today, two decades after it first started off. The venue is Beausejour Stadium. One day cricket matches in flood lights are much cooler, literally and figuratively, than the drab full day matches in the heat of the sun. West Indies play Zimbabwe, one of the weakest international sides every, if not the weakest, in the 5th match of the series - not the most promising of settings. However, for the Windies cricket fan, it should be quite exciting.
The first half of today’s match will be played in daylight hours between 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and the 224 floodlights on six pylons will be turned on during the 45-minute dinner break in preparation for the second segment of the match between 6:15 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.
While day/night matches are standard around the world, it has taken some time for them to get going in the West Indies. In the view of many, including Lara, it is long overdue…
“It’s a big attraction around the world, having lights in Australia, India and these sort of places.
“In saying that, I don’t think any ground in England has any permanent lights. At least we are ahead of them.”
Hmm.
Also, I cannot figure out why the Windies players are closing their ears while they are acting as if they are practising in the above picture.
Ryan Patrick live blogs the press conference which announces Brian Lara as West Indian cricket captain for the third time. The general feeling is that this is a bad decision, a terrible backward step. When Lara was appointed captain the second time, the general feeling was that it was a very good decision. Public opinion, as we know, is fickle.
The West Indies are struggling at the moment. So they certainly cannot become worse with Lara now, can they? Brian Lara has the experience. Brian Lara has been inspirational and proven in parts like in helping the Windies win the Champions Trophy in 2004. So why can Brian Lara not be a stop gap arrangement till the World Cup at least and help the Windies to some proud victories?
Cricket is not all about the international one dayers and test cricket. There is the domestic cricket played in each country of course. Usually domestic cricket sees a sharp contrast from the crowd filled international games. However, domestic cricket has it’s own special charm. For me, there are two Eden Gardens.
One is the filled to capacity Eden during international games. The other is the empty - serene and almost heavenly Eden during domestic games. I love the jam packed Eden. But there is nothing like hearing the sound of leather hit willow and it’s consequent echo in an amost empty stadium. Add a cup of tea on a winter evening and you have the perfect cricket watching scenario for me.
Domestic cricket is under rated and very special. Two cricket fans experience the marvel in two different parts of the world.
Will Luke, Cricinfo journalist, was blown away at the sight of Lord’s. He went for the opening day of the traditional opening game of the English County season between the MCC and previous year’s champions and writes:
The lift heaved us to the top and, when the doors opened, my initial reaction was “Shit. I’m in a Big Brother house” which does a huge disservice to the centre’s architect! The design is ultra-modern and incredibly well-planned. All emphasis is on the ground, on the playing area, and the view is astonishing. The roof’s curve naturally dip down onto the glass, and so does your focus; you can’t get away from the view. It’s massive, and “there” - quite brilliant. Lots of blue everywhere too… I imagine I might prefer sitting in the stands for much of a day’s play, or perching somewhere, instead of spending the whole day in the media centre despite its’ many obvious benefits. Oh, it’s all bloody wicked.
In another part of the world, Liam Camps went to experience the final of the Carib Beer Challenge which saw the traditional rivals Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago face each other once more. When Barbados and T & t play, the stadium is not empty. Far from it! There is chatter, there is beer and there is a lot of atmosphere! Camps writes:
Surely this is as good as the sport gets. Surrounded by brilliant characters and an atmosphere unmatched by any sober setting. There they go at Best again. “Tino! Tino! What you think of the ladies here today?” As he laughs it off the hard-hitting questions continue, “Tino, where’s Fidel (Edwards)?” We all know the answer, but the fun is in the interrogation. Cricket, lovely cricket. Lara did not hit any big runs on this day, and the run rate did not leave many in awe, but West Indies cricket is still alive. It lives in the collective heart of West Indians around the region.
