Running on nude?

Jason Gillespie and Matthew Hayden, it turns out, were planning to run nude after Dizzy's double hundred in the second Test against Bangladesh. Thankfully, they have reconsidered it:
As Dizzy said,

…""Don't know about that one, being in a Muslim country," he told the
Australian Associated Press. "I don't know if it would be perceived
right."…

Of course it won't be! Keep your clothes on, please!

Technorati Tags: cricket, sports, australia, gillespie

The start of the end?

With Tendulkar deciding to skip the ODIs in the West Indies, is this the start of the end of his career? Can one expect him to altogether give up one form of the game soon to extend another? Which would he choose?

Tough call, indeed!

Tossed!

Camera toss is a technique that involves literally tossing the camera around to capture an artistic image. Like the one of the Indian flag below.

Check out more such photos by offstage4 on Flickr and here is some more information about the technique including more awesome pics.

One billion and counting

And no, we are not talking about India’s population for once! That is the number of Kalashnikov rifles (AK-47) that have ever been manufactured. Interestingly, only 12 per cent of these have been in Russia. Hm.

Seriously, is it something to be proud of that you have created a weapon so deadly that it is ‘reliable and durable’ in most conditions? Mr Kalashnikov seems to think so.

It’s back. Why, oh why?

Jack Dawson is back. Meet him all over again, as he gets ready to explore a new world.

Censored Comments?

Now the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) can be held responsible for a lot of things. But censoring on-air commentators is something I would have thought they would not indulge in. Apparently, that opinion stands altered. Or should it? For one, the man raising the stink is none other than former England captain Michael Atherton. The important word in that is England. He also waited till the series was over. If the BCCI was censoring his comments, why not say it before? He was also commenting for Sky Sports and if he was so annoyed with the censoring, he could have just stopped talking on the Nimbus-produced telecast. Or was it the money that held him back? No Indian commentator—or for that matter, English or Australian—has come out with these comments. Sure the quality was poor, but if what he can say was being censored, then the plot thickens, indeed. The BCCI has already imposed its logo onto the telecasts and the number of ads on the screen (and between overs) have risen dramatically. In his column, as reported widely, Atherton says:

"Nimbus are petrified of upsetting their ‘employer’, for fear of not getting any future rights, so any criticism of the BCCI is strictly frowned upon. Local commentators are already asked to wear the BCCI logo and are asked not to mention sensitive subjects like the spat between Greg Chappell and Sourav Ganguly, or controversial selection issues, no matter how germane they might be to the action," Atherton said.

And why not? Haven’t we all heard of how the ICC manuevres its decisions to accomodate the ECB schedules and requests and abstains from saying anything against them? How many times have we heard anything negative about the ECB on a Sky Sports Telecast? Mr Atherton, the money is in India, which is why you endured this ‘force’ upon you. Now that you have submitted, grin and bear it.

Hear, hear!

Finally, someone else says what I have been harping about for a while. Whew!

"…Those of us who thought things couldn't get worse than DD's coverage,when we almost invariably missed one ball per over, have now been greeted by a brand new cricketing phenomenon – the four ball over – courtesy Nimbus via Sahara One. In addition to the first ball of an over and often, the end of the last, we miss the bowler running in to the batsman and the batsman taking his stance; the production has been so shoddy that we've often even missed following the ball to the boundary too…."

Let's hope something is done about this.

South Africa’s playing. Yawn!

There are plenty of exciting cricket teams in world cricket today but South Africa is definitely not one of them. Ever since Cronje-gate hit them and they plunged into the depths of match-fixing (one outcome of which has been that Gibbs does not come to play in the subcontinent), they have not been the world beating team they were under Cronje.

Watching them lose miserably to Australia – both in AUS and at home last month – was one thing. It's Australia. But watching them take on New Zealand yesterday in the first Test, was a rather bore. They have no batsmen save Smith and Gibbs who can excite the cricket lover. And I don't mean this only in the slam-bang Dhoni style of batting… there is Dravid who is so correct even in defense and defiance, that it's a pleasure to watch. Instead, SA have the bumbling likes of Ashwell Prince and Jacques Rudolph (so he saved a Test in Australia, but nothing of note since).

An observation of this batting line-up has been that they attack to start with and if that works, all is well. Of course it is. The foundation has been laid and the others can play their natural game and consolidate. But if the openers and #3 don't make enough (which is how it normally is), then the middle order is rather lost. They don't know if they should defend and get set or just attack like cornered fighters. In the end, they do nothing and just try very hard to show as if they want to hit the ball. All they manage are nicks and edges.

At 266-8 after Day 1, SA owe most of these runs to the likes of Pollock and Boucher, but these guys are not going to be around forever. And neither is Kallis. He used to be this destructive batsman who has suddenly, it would seem, discovered the fine art of blocking. Why? I have no idea. But in the end, he has no runs to show for it.

As for their bowling, it's one-dimensional at best. The mercurial and influential Donald lent much firepower and with Pollock, was a destroyer. But Ntini, Nel (who depends more on his facial expressions to scare batsmen into submission) and bowlers like Hall, Steyn and who have you, Boje are rarely going to go through quality sides twice with any regularity.  With all due respect, I agree with what Geoff Boycott had to say about Nicky Boje's bowling: "My mum can bowl better"!

Desperate measures are called for to revive this Test team and I can't help but think it needs to start with the captain who has too much on his plate. Let him develop as a batsman first for there is potential there. He hardly commands any respect on the basis of his performance. It's mostly on position. That can't work… Look at a Ponting, Vaughan, Dravid, Fleming or even Inzamam. These guys command the team's request. He needs to get into this league. And why not Kallis till he is around? I think he would make a fine captain. Worth a try… 

Indian bench strength stands exposed

The much-vaunted Indian bench-strength has been exposed and pretty badly at that after today's loss. Virender Sehwag, captaining in the absence of Rahul Dravid, lasted exactly five balls and did not even bowl. Why don't Indian captains who can bowl, don't bowl? Ganguly was another such captain.

Mohammed Kaif continues his bad form, but at least he contributed
more than Sehwag (15 vs 4). In a recent article, Sunil Gavaskar had
said that India needs to test the bench players so they are match-ready
whenever required. By continuing to play disastrously out of form
players like Kaif and Sehwag, this will never happen. In his column, he
wrote:

"…The form of Mohammad Kaif for example is worrying, as he has not scored
runs for some time now and still holds on to a place in the squad. Not
many others have been so fortunate to stay in the squad after so many
games without scoring runs, and unless the same yardstick is applied,
how will we find out if we have a bench-strength if others aren't given
at least half the chances that some players are always given?
…"

I can't help but agree with this simply because it makes horse sense. Playing your reserve players in non-pressure (or consequence) matches is important to have them "match-fit" and give them international exposure and experience. Take the case of R P Singh… after some pretty good performances in Pakistan where he picked up 8 wickets (second only to Irfan Pathan's 9), he was completely ignored for this series so far. R P Singh also had the best economy rate and average for the Pak ODIs.

Sree Santh is one for the future as are VRV Singh and Munaf Patel and they should get chances in the same ratio. It is not fair to expect these guys to just turn up and have a winning hand immediately. If Sehwag and Kaif, after being there for more than 10 matches on the trot can't do it, why expect these newcomers to?

Sehwag's bad form has continued for far too long. He is supposed to be one of the 'seniors' and top players in the team now. But he just does not show any responsibility in his batting at all. While he started with a bang today, his technique let him down again. Would it be asking for too much to if I said he should take a month off and go back to the nets? Maybe even miss the first Test against the West Indies?

I hope that Kaif does not get the nod for the WI tour. There are players who are far more deserving (like S Sriram mentioned above) who should tour. As for the middle order, bring back Laxman. He is a specialist in that position and still has at least a couple of seasons left in him.

What was on display today was the lack of bench strength. India have had either Dravid, Tendulkar or Ganguly in every single ODI over the last 10 years and they are being sorely missed here. But looking ahead, the time is not too far when neither will be available and that would be a permanent situation as against the temporary one right now.

Tendulkar will return but we all know he is not the same old batsman of yore. Dravid will play the way he know and will continue to dig in and show results. Ganguly may never play again. Of these stars from the last decade or so, Laxman is the only one with enough experience to guide the middle order (assuming Tendulkar would be in and out of the team with injuries) and must be treated well.

And please, play the back up. You never know when the mainframe will crash. Always have back up ready. Golden rule…

Bad Ad?

Following is the transcript of a radio ad for Kaya Skin Clinic:

Wife: Darling, how do I look?
Husband: Ummm… nice
W: Just nice?
H: Lovely
W: Only Lovely?
H: You look beautiful.
W: You know, that’s what I like about you. It’s 5 in the morning and you think I look beautiful.
H: You know, I mean it.
VO: Kaya Skin Clinic. For those who know beauty begins with skin and not make-up.

Just a few points:

1. Why in god’s name is the poor husband being tested at 5 am?
2. Of course this is a trick question and there is no right answer.
3. Doesn’t it sound like the wife is coercing the answer she wants (i.e. beautiful) out of him?
4. After getting two wrong answers (listen, if “nice” and “lovely” were correct, he would have gone back to sleep), he had to say the b-word.
5. Doesn’t she sound rather conceited? Why would you want to know how you look when you are just waking up? It’s another thing if someone volunteers a compliment. But this is like extortion.
6. Are the women of the world approving of this ad? Doesn’t it show them in poor light?

Just some things I thought I should ask. Any answers?