Cup casualties

Here’s an interesting compilation of who all ended their careers after the World Cup in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the compiler Mohandas Menon (a statistician of some repute) has included the following in the list:

• Sachin Tendulkar & Sourav Ganguly (Ind) — Rested for ODI series in Bangladesh
• Virender Sehwag (Ind) — Dropped from Test squad
• Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar and Irfan Pathan (Ind) — Dropped from Test and ODI squads

Sure there are details as to their status, but is he suggesting something? Naughty, naughty! The last line does make some interesting reading, though. What do you think are the chances of Harbhajan, Agarkar and Pathan returning to the team anytime soon? Or anytime at all?Do say!

Australia completes WC hat trick

The head says Australia.
Heart wants Sri Lanka.

I predict Australia will win.

Don’t ask why. And god, I hope I am wrong!

UPDATE: Too easy in the end. Congrats Australia!

Sourav Ganguly redux?

Sourav Ganguly famously frustrated Steve Waugh by keeping him waiting for the toss. Mahela Jayawardene may be trying a similar stunt! Let’s hope it doesn’t backfire. Ganguly could pull it off, but the challenge and the stakes are much higher for Mahela. The Aussies, of course, are not amused:

“For the Australia captain to be kept waiting for nearly an hour after a day of travel just 36 hours before a World Cup final and for 100 journalists to have their shots ruined because the sun had gone down because the Sri Lankan captain didn’t turn up was clearly unfortunate,” Australia media manager Phil Pope told Reuters on Friday.

Steve Bucknor, meanwhile, is going to officiate in his fifth successive World Cup final. He would have preferred to sit and watch had his team made it through, but alas and alak… he has to officiate yet again. This time, though, he will be partnered by Steve Bucknor and not David Shepherd. Bucknor, it is reported, was happy:

“It is a dream come true,” Bucknor said in an ICC news release announcing his appointment. “I was happy knowing I was umpiring in a Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean and now being asked to stand in the final again makes it even more special.”

What makes me happy is this circus finally ends tomorrow. About time.

AUS v SL: Bat first or second?

It’s the sort of question that seems innocuous but can give captains sleepless nights. Most captains, one would assume, might just prefer losing the toss and not having to make the decision! But even if a decision were to be made for you, there needs to be a plan in place. Australia has shown themselves to be adept at setting totals and chasing down scores. And despite all reported weaknesses in their bowling and batting, none of it has even come to the fore let alone exploiting it. England, perhaps, was the only team that was somewhat close to making Australia sweat. But then Ian Bell went and got himself out.

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The worst coverage of the World Cup?

Has this been the worst World Cup coverage in the last five events or 15 years? (Interesting there have been five tournaments in 15 years, no?). I think so. Even Doordarshan does a better job than SET Max.

This has been my fifth World Cup on TV. The first I really remember was back in 1992 when cable TV was all new and just getting started. On the whole, for a first real attempt at global broadcast, it was well done. The times were not too convenient for India, but the event was well presented on TV. Highlights were available twice, if memory serves me correct. So even if you missed a match, there were ways to catch the best moments again.

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Found the turning point?

A bit late in the day for this, no? It actually seems like Michael Vaughan is trying to extend his ODI career with statements such as these:

I want it to be a turning point in my form. What I will say is that I
am a fighter. Today was a fighting performance from Michael Vaughan

With the first semi-final just about to start, who will win? Sri Lanka or New Zealand? I am inclined to think SL has the experience to go through, but NZ look hungrier. A good match is promised. I daresay New Zealand will win.

Let’s see.

Headroll…

Quite similar to the drumroll, this, except that the music is a little muted. A little high on the bass… for the thud is a bit sudden! But it’s known to be enjoyed by most… especially those who have nothing to do with it! Like us!

And after a prolonged headroll in India, it’s time for other countries. England’s set the ball rolling with the sacking (or resignation?) of Duncan Fletcher and if Tony Grieg is to be believed, Michael Vaughan is next. There have been many asking for Fletcher’s head including the outspoken Sir Geoffrey Boycott and now, it’s happened.

Next in line looks to be Bangladesh’s coach Dav Whatmore. It’s not surprising since he has expressed interest in taking up the job available in India. Speaking about it, the BCB President, M Abdul Aziz said the decision is yet to be taken, but the writing seems to be on the wall…

“We will see what he wants and decide accordingly,” BCB president M. Abdul Aziz told reporters on Thursday.

And moving into the hot seat as captain for Pakistan is the young turk Shoaib Malik. After Younis Khan turned down the job, former cricketers came down on him pretty hard, but why the PCB ignored the experienced Mohammed Yousuf is something that will remain a mystery like many things about Pakistan cricket. Right after his appointment, Malik is making all the right noises too:

“Our team has the capability of bouncing back from the early World Cup
exit and we just need to get our confidence back that was dented after
what happened in the last few weeks.”

Interesting developments as the West Indies struggle against Bangladesh. Very interesting indeed.

The Goodbye lot

At the start of the World Cup, there were a few candidates who were primed to retire after a satisfying campaign. Satisfying not always being “winning” but a semi-final or so. Now, the list is burgeoning and this time, it’s thanks to a call for someone’s head. While not unprecedented, the performance of some of the stars from various teams has left us surprised. One may wonder why. Here’s the list (real and potential):

Michael Vaughan (England)
His time as captain has come. For far too long has England done without a specialist captain for the one-day game. And even if they don’t regard this as the ‘true’ form of the game, they need to put up a good show. Paul Collingwood looks like a good and worthy successor with Andre Flintoff more interested in drinking binges…

Duncan Fletcher (England)
Ten years as the coach of a team and very little to show for it. How he survived that long itself is a mystery. Of things Continue reading »

Isn’t cricket wonderful?

Where else would you be treated to such diversity? Justin Langer, after years of on-field sledging and name-calling, now declares the whole thing unfit for the game. Well, if he understood Hindi, there was only one thing to say: Billi sau choohe khaa ke Haj ko chali! Ricky Ponting is rightly amused about the whole thing!

“There must be two Justin Langers in the world I think,” Ponting, the Australian captain, told The Australian newspaper when informed of Langer’s call. “I don’t know what’s happened there. But I know the little fella was never too far away from it if something was going on.”

Over in Pakistan, the result of the World Cup failure has seen not one, not two but all of 80 heads roll! Let’s rock? The job cuts, though, are not only at a high-level. They are at all levels and this is what baffles us. Why would a daily-wage labourer or clerk be fired for what the higher-ups and on-field stars did?

A statement released by the board said that the affected employees belong to various categories including contractual, permanent and daily-waged through all management levels.

A complete overhaul of the system is being sought, but here, they are really throwing out the baby with the dirty water! Very interesting move, but not in the most positive sense of the word. One just hopes that all of it doesn’t have to do with the on-field events.

The reasons behind the lay-offs were, according to the statement, because staff qualifications and skill-sets did not match the relevant requirements of their positions.

Let’s clutch to straws, shall we?

Of course, we are talking theoretically, but the West Indies can still make the semi-final. How? They have two matches left: one against England and the other against Bangladesh. One would hope that they win against Bangladesh (and rather handsomely) and then beat England. This would bring them to three wins overall.

If England can beat South Africa today, they would have three wins, as would South Africa [Points Table]. And then the whole circus comes down to net run rate. The whole ‘who beat whom’ formula won’t work since England would have beaten South Africa, who beat the West Indies, who beat England. Whooppee doo! One merry go round, that!

Of course, all this hinges on the hope that England can beat SA. And WI would have to play out of their skins to get their run rate up. At least they have the chance against Bangladesh. Such straws we are now clutching on to make this tournament exciting…