Post the World Cup, the BCCI needs to seriously consider splitting the Test and ODI captaincy.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Boof for Coach?
Come 2007, Greg Chappell's contract runs out.. Boof wants to coach England.. Can we get him to coach India?
Who wants to be a bowler?
Friday, December 01, 2006
All's not well in South Africa
If you thought the Indians had problems
SA get behind Smith
Does Smith have too much power?
Publish
When Resource Management went awry
Sehwag at the crossroads
Have they lost the plot?
Greg's Dharma, decoded
A Lax ray of hope in heart of darkness
Sehwag’s fall is a VVS warning
For all the Management mumbo-jumbo mouthed by the Team Management, they have sadly overlooked Personnel Management.
There is a lesson in this, somewhere, on what not to do when dealing with individuals and teams.
Little things...
add up to a lot ( random thoughts during India's first 20/20 game at Jo'burg).
South African Innings.
- Sreesanth's 3rd ball of his first over is a wide.. to first and second slip.. who bail out and let the ball go to the boundary.
- 1st ball of Zaheer's second over. Bosman is ball watching while Smith wants a single.. Throw at the bowlers end.. Would have been out if it hit.. but the point of interest is that neither the bowler nor any of the fielders are close enuf to collect the ball and effect a run out.
- "Go out there and enjoy" says Wasim Jaffer.. About time too.
- Zaheer Khan.. you beauty!!!
- Oh dear... over #4.4 and another run out chance wasted.. to add insult to injury, overthrow given.. and the next ball crashed through midwicket for 4.
- Wicket maiden Ajit Agarkar...In a 20/20 contest..
- Its official.. Graeme Smith is Zaheer Khan's bunny.
- over#8 : Who is this imposter posing as Ajit Agarkar? a wicket, a maiden and now another wicket!!!
- over # 10 :- oh dear Ajit.. what have you done to yourself?
- over #11 :- is there something wrong with sachin's left hand?
- India on fire.. Sachin gets Kemp!!
- over 13 :- lets not lose the plot now.... 13 runs in the over.. not good
- brave... getting Harbhajan to bowl over #15.
- ooooooh!!! aggression from Sreesanth after bailing out of his bowling run.. 103/6 in 16
- oh dear!!! Sreesanth misfields.. over #17. A super over ends up being just good.
- Dinesh Kaarthick .... Energizer Bunny!!
- 126/9 SA
- Now, over to India's weakest link!!!!
- 4 in the first over.. But Sehwag is stroking the ball well.
- a lot more smiles from the Indians today
- MISFIELD!!!!! Way to go Albie!!!
- Sachin looks shaky..
- oh dear... How close was that Sehwag?
- AB deVilliers not wearing pads?
- over #3 steady Veeru.. steady now.
- over #4.. here come the chants ... "Sachin SAAAAAACHIIIIIIIIIIIIIII"
- and GOOOOOOOOOOOONE.. Sachin departs..
- Mongia at one drop.. Interesting... Maybe the county stint is the reason behind him coming up the order.
- sweet pull Mongia... Super!!!
- finally, the Indians are playing out the overs instead of trying something stupid
- over # 7 :- problems for SA.. Telemachus in some pain.
- over #7 :- good, aggressive running between the wickets..
- this is going to be interesting.. If the Indians don't lose a wicket in the next 3 overs, the pressure will be square on the Proteas for the first time this series. How will Smith react?
- Just thinking that Lalit Modi and co could use the 20/20 format in domestic cricket.. Will be a huge money spinner. Revenues generated could be used to upgrade Stadium infrastructure and also supplement the players income.. Just a little marketing and a little glitz ( Bollywood meets cricket on the sports ground), and this thing will fly.
- over #9 :- Sehwag turning it on here.
- Taking on Gibbs for that single. Nice
- over 9.3 :- SUICIDE!!!
- hang on now.... was Langeveldt holding onto the ball after the stumps were broken? remember the Harbhajan run out of Haddin in the DLF cup? This looks eerily similar.
- over #11 :- Dinesh Mongia.. sweet swing of the bat there.
- over #11 :- Dinesh Mongia using a baseball bat? Look at that bat go :-)
- over #12 :- GOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE.. Dhoni goes. another inside edge
- out comes Energizer Bunny
- over #13 :- easy now Dinesh.. the runs will come.
- over #14 :- steady.. steady.. steady
- 38 in 36 with 7 wickets.. if India botch it up from this point forward, they deserve to be dumped in the Indian Ocean.
- 33 in 30 with 7 wickets.. Energizer Bunny looks cool .. Mongia, a little edgy..
- over #16 :- oh Brian.. what a cock up!!
- 29 in 24 with 7 wickets..
- over #17.. Energizer Bunny.. you beauty!!!
- PRESSURE!!! South Africa is feeling it.. and how..
- The Indian bench is all smiles.. YAY!!!
- Robin Peterson on..Huge gamble!!!!
- And why was that required now Dinesh? After all the hard work, you toss it all away
- 18 in 14
- Scores level. INDIA cannot lose!!
Playing favorites?
"Apart from Dravid in the Cape Town game where he broke his finger, Sachin Tendulkar in Durban, and Irfan Pathan in the last game at Port Elizabeth, no batsman has shown signs of having come to grips with the conditions."
- What about this fourth gent, who scored 55 in the very same game that Rahul broke his finger?
Making the right noises..
is Venkatapathy Raju, here... Now, can he and the Board match their words with deeds?
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Some thoughts on the Team selection
Overall, a pretty balanced effort I think..
Ganguly's selection is bound to inflame passions, and it will be a pretty interesting Indian dressing room with Ganguly and Rahul and Greg. That said, from a purely cricketing point of view, Ganguly is bound to be a passenger more than anything else. If Rahul is fit and available, it will be difficult to slot Ganguly anywhere in the Team XI, unless India go with a bowler short and Ganguly becomes the 5th bowling option, something even Ganguly wont be too keen on.
Questions have been raised about what this means to the "process" so dear to Greg and Rahul, and IMHO, if the "process" is paramount, then the process should succeed irrespective of personnel. I will be dammed if the "processes" put in place are so personnel-centric that any change will derail it completely. If that is the case, what is the value add from Greg anyways?
About investment in youth, its a good thing to do.. After all, the middle order is nowhere as potent as it was a couple of years ago. And with the players ageing, and retirement not far away, it is imperative that younger players be given a chance.. But, is there a real, conscious effort to do so? But for Kaif and Yuvraj, has there been any other player who has been identified as a middle order bat and played in place of Rahul or VVS or Sachin ( when fit and available) in Test Cricket? and regarding the youth policy in ODIs, the only kid who has been persisted with, irrespective of performance, has been Suresh Raina ( under the new dispensation, that is). Robin Uthappa was tried and dumped, so was Piyush Chawla, ditto R.P Singh and VRV Singh . Besides these, what other player has been really groomed who was not part of the thinking under the previous management?
Finally, the wickets.. Or lack thereof in the Indian domestic structure.. Shashank Manohar of the "player salary to be linked to performance" fame, had no qualms getting his groundsman to prepare a green top at Nagpur.. Neither did the CAB at Kolkata.. Jamshedpur, Mohali and Hyderabad have been bouncy. So it is not that the wickets cannot be prepared.. But does the BCCI, and local associations, have the guts and gumption to do so on a regular basis? Punjab tried a green top and lost to Bengal.. To avoid relegation, wont they go for "patta" wickets in the remaining home games?
There are 30 teams playing the Ranji Trophy ( give or take a couple). Why does the BCCI not mandate that the home grounds of each of these teams be of a particular character.. Bouncy, Green, Square turner, Balanced between bat and ball ( some purchase on the first day for pacers, easing out on day 2 and 3, and turning on day 4 and 5), and patta wickets.. Balance this across all 30 teams, and let each of the teams in the Elite and plate divisions of the Ranji Trophy be exposed to each kind of wicket.
the BCCI could also mandate that the Balanced wickets be in the test match centres ( Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalaore, Chennai) and the remaining types across the board.
Its not that hard is it?
About talent search and the dearth of "quality" players in the domestic scene, why not revive the "A" tours that have been sporadic so far? The Indian domestic season runs roughly between end November through Feb.. How about this then
1. Identify a pool of 30 players, categorized into two ("A" and "B") teams,based on the performance in the Ranji domestic season.
2. Play home series against England/SA/Oz/NZ/WI/SL/Pak in the period between February through April/early May.
3. Tour England or play county/club cricket in England during the English summer. Monitor the progress of each of these players through the period.
4. Tour SA/NZ/Oz during October/November or play club cricket there during this time..Play Queensland Second XI, or Auckland or Gauteng or any of the other teams depending on tam availability.
based solely on performance, rate the players. Those who make the cut can be put on a supplementary retainer along with the national team. Those who don't make the cut always have the next year .
Make this an annual affair with all players ( on retainer or otherwise) be available for selection.
The BCCI surely has the money and the muscle to get this in place if they wanted.
Given the amount of cricket played, it is difficult to get the National team guys to play domestic cricket.. But surely, a system can be set into place in spite of them?
In closing, this bit from Sambit Bal on CricInfo :- "The average Indian cricket fan might have been fooled by the team's success in the last World Cup in South Africa but it wouldn't have been lost on the discerning few that the pitches were flat, almost designed to give India a good run."
The weakness to cope with anything outside of the norm was apparent even when India was beating all comers at home last season. But so swept in the euphoria of winning and team changes was everyone that it took a string of defeats to bring this weakness to the fore.
Master Stroke
VVS Laxman appointed vice-captain of the test team
Indian Test squad
Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman (vice-capt), Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, VRV Singh, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
109/6
is it an inability to play on bouncier tracks or a lack of application? time and time again, batsmen have gone for broke without a) settling down and judging the bounce b) awareness of the match situation. I think they are so caught up with their image of swashbucklers that they are unwilling to do the hard yards in the middle, irrespective of the conditions.
39/4
What does one say to this performance? Why would anyone, after this, want to bowl?I mean, the bowlers get the stick for bowling badly at the slog. So,they put on a much improved performance this time round..
And what do the batters do? Play like headless chicken!!! Time and time again, the Indian bowlers have bowled superbly, only for the batters to lose the plot. If I were Zaheer Khan or Anil Kumble, why would I put the extra effort only for the "superstars" of Indian cricket throw it away?
4th ODI ( India vs SA)
is it just me or is there a lot more purpose and discipline in the Indian effort today? Did the change of captains or the heat back home do the trick?
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
If the tv reports are to be believed...
Laxman for ODIs.... Ganguly for Tests.
Jaffer for ODIs... Gambhir for Tests
Irfan for ODIs.... VRV for Tests.
Have the selectors completely lost it?
Reverse sweep!!!
First Laxman, and now Ganguly!!!
Looks like the current batch of selectors are hell bent on reversing everything Kiran More's mob did in their 3 years at the helm.
Given the rehab of (former) players,I wont be too surprised to see if India fields the same crowd in this World Cup as they did in the last one..
So where does all of this leave Greg Chappell?
Monday, November 27, 2006
VVS Laxman called up...
bad call, this one.. And here is why :-
VVS, while a brilliant test batsman, does not quite cut it in the ODI arena. I am aware of him scoring back to back centuries in Australia and a century in the 5th ODI at Lahore, but those innings were played on wickets where the bounce was true and the ball was coming onto the bat.
Given the conditions in the West Indies, where the bounce is low and the ball does not come onto the bat, Laxman's inability to work the ball off the square and force the pace are negatives. Plus, his fielding is not upto scratch.And so,Laxman will not make it to WI.
Given that, why include him for 1 ODI in SA? By the time he gets to SA, the ODI series will be done and dusted.
If Wasim Jaffer and KKD Karthiks selections are contentious, dont the same arguments apply to VVS also? Or are we clutching at straws to turn around a season that has gone pear-shaped pretty quickly?
More Theatre of the Absurd...
Chappell gets the stick from West Bengal MLAs
"Cutting across party lines, members of the West Bengal Assembly on Monday condemned Indian cricket coach Greg Chappell for his comment on MPs and demanded his immediate removal.......
Chakraborty, however, said Parliament should not engage itself with the issue as it had important business of national and international importance to deal with........
Trinamool Congress MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said the Australian had no idea about the Indian constitution. "He has not only shown disrespect to the MPs, but also to the people of the entire country."
"He should be summoned to parliament for the outrageous comments and removed as coach," he said."
Protestors burn Chappell`s effigy
"The mps are people`s representatives. Insulting them is akin to insulting the Indian people," they said, carrying aloft posters condemning Chappell.
"Moreover, Chappell is an outsider, a foreigner. What right does he have to speak about the functioning of our parliamentary democracy," they asked.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Dear Rahul,
It has been a rough second season for you as captain of the Indian cricket team, and things are not looking any better now than they were at the start of the season.
Your batting lineup is short on form and long on insecurity. Your bowling lineup is more Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, with no one knowing who will show up on a particular day.
Your brightest prospect is undergoing a huge crisis of confidence, not knowing if he is in the team for his batting ability or for his bowling.
Your coach has polarized public opinion to such an extent ( aided and abetted in large part by your predecessor) that any reasonable cricketing debate quickly degenerates into a clash of personalities.
Your stalwart players cannot pull their weight, and your junior players do not know what is expected of them.
The Indian public wants blood, and statements like "Criticism does not motivate us" does nothing to soothe the inflamed sentiment back home.
Your ability to lead, for the lack of a better word, stinks!!
You had a superb first season , with your team winning on a whim. There were external distractions galore, but they did not faze you. Your team played like champions, and played with such energy that they made even skeptics believe.
Your captaincy had clarity and decisiveness, and all you touched turned to gold.
Yes, there were basic flaws in the team even then ( inability to play on anything other than a "patta" wicket), but such was the mood within the team and such was the vibe, that these flaws were papered over.
You raised our expectations and we believed.
Given how badly your team is performing right now, maybe you need to step back. Having lost two games on the trot, and with no realistic hope of winning the ODI series in South Africa, maybe you need to take a break.
Take a safari, spend some time on the beach, spend quality time with your family if you like. The remaining two ODIs really don't matter in the larger scheme of things, and you are required for the test series to follow.
Take the time to recharge you batteries, spend the time clearing your mind. Attitude reflects Leadership and Team India does not want to be found wanting on this score.
You need a break. There is just too much on your plate and there are no quick fixes or long term solutions in sight. Instead of trying the retrieve whatever is left of this disastrous ODI season, focus on the task ahead.
India has never won a test match in South Africa. You are blessed with having, for the first time, the bowling attack that could just swing it your way. That must be your prerogative.
In the meantime, let the captain in waiting, Virender Sehwag, lead the charge. If he is the man chosen to lead in your absence or after you leave the game, this is as good an opportunity as any to assess his leadership potential.
There have been numerous complaints from various quarters about the lack of responsibility shouldered by him in the ODI arena. There can be no responsibility greater than captaining India, and let us see if he is up to scratch.
And while you are away, take Greg and Sachin and Anil and Ian with you. Let the youngsters chart their own path outside of your long shadows. Let them play the way they choose to.At worst, they will lose. Big deal!!
But you, the batsmen, and more importantly, you, the captain, are vital for India in the near future.
Take Care and God Bless,
Homer
A woeful inattention to details
"A woeful inattention to details" writes Dileep "Rahul Dravid can do no wrong" Premachandran in his verdict .
He cites the following examples of India's poor ground fielding
" Kemp had his share of good fortune, reprieved on five when there was a big noise as a delivery from Anil Kumble drifted past the bat and into Mahendra Singh Dhoni's gloves down the leg side. That could be termed unfortunate, but what followed was truly wretched. Sachin Tendulkar put down a caught-and-bowled chance when he had made just 9, Dinesh Karthik put down a tough chance to his right at midwicket when he had 34, and Kumble let one slip at cover when he was three short of a maiden century."
but conveniently forgets
"25.3 Harbhajan Singh to Pollock, 1 run, fuller in length, the one that goes straight on. Pollock is sucked forward and the edge is produced, ball goes high towards Dravid at first slip and he fails to hold on to a very difficult chance".
He writes
" It didn't help that the death-overs bowling was as abysmal as the fielding. They bowled far too full to Kemp, a man who likes the ball in the slot,"
but forgets that there is a guy, designated as the captain, who could, if he chose, talk to the bowlers on what is required, set fields accordingly, and control the tempo of the game.
Finally,
"Cricket matches are often won by the little things, the sliding stops and the pushed singles, rather than the big booming sixes."
and little more imagination by the captain perhaps?
And how about a little more attention to details by the writer ?
-----
As an aside, Cricinfo conveniently sidesteps Bengals win over Punjab in the Ranji Trophy game at Mohali that was played on a green top, focusing instead on inane details on the Delhi-TN game played at the Kotla. The "Ranji Trophy Super League round-up, 1st round, 4th day" contains no mention of the game either.
Given that Saurav Chandidas Ganguly is the captain of the Bengal team, just how objective is the Cricinfo editorial staff?
Disappointed... ( further thoughts on the second ODI India-SA)
Senior player comes out and plays a bone headed shot when a little more diligence was the order of the day- Sehwag playing the upper cut to the third ball of the Indian innings and holing out pretty much sums up Team India's approach to the game these days.
A game, that by rights hould have been India's, was lost because of inept and incompetent cricket. And the rot starts at the top, with the captain being the most culpable.
The chronic inability to press home the advantage has become the hallmark of Rahul's captaincy since SA toured India in 2005.
Poor team selections, poor on field marshalling of resources, poor off the field management, lack of planning and a distinct lack of execution has become the calling card of this team.
It does not help that constant shuffling of the batting lineup has made players unsure of thier roles in the team. I am not quite sure how much they are being talked to about why they are being shunted up and down the order.
And then there is the question of priorities:- Given that the Indian pace attack is "raw" and "inexperienced", the standard go-to excuse bandied by the captain every time we lose, why is there no bowling coach travelling with the team? Is having a "shrink" associated with the coach's academy more valuable than a full time bowling coach?
Rahul Dravid needs to stand up and taketotal and complete responsibility for his team's slide, instead of hiding behind homilies.. Or he needs to step down and let some one else take charge of Team India's fortunes in the One Day arena.
Second ODI- India SA
This loss hurts.. and the blame lies squarely in the lap of the captain..letting a team that was 76/6 reach 274/7 is criminal.. To say I am disappointed will be stating the obvious.
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