Show me the talent!!!!

Two of the Indian newspapers are into talent lament/talent identification mode. While the Indian Express talks of the lack of available talent in the country, the Mumbai Mirror tries to identify the "juniors" who may make it to Dhaka come May.

I expect more of the same as April 20th approaches - the lament about "lack of talent" and the desperate need to clutch at straws.

Meanwhile, no one will talk of grass roots development and what needs to be done to groom talent. None of the newspapers have as yet raised questions regarding the "A" team setup and fixtures. No one knows and no one cares.

So, expect more of the same.
---

Hope springs from India’s neighbourhood. Much before Jayawardene’s Lankans showed India the door, the country’s authorities had figuratively humbled the much-richer Indian board by including Sri Lanka’s deaf cricketers’ team SLDC in their Division Three league amongst the normals.

Now battling on the field_not the boardroom_ for promotion, SLDC draws from all provinces and looks at 19 special schools to improve its team standards. “Even then, the opportunities are very limited, so these international tournaments give them something to look forward to,” says Zaharine Amin, the manager of the Sri Lankans here.

“Ideally if any of them are exceptional, they should play with normals, because financially a team of deaf cannot be so strong as to sustain itself,” she adds.

---
And in Mumbai, where Ramakant Achrekar's wards are raking in the big bucks, the man himself is about to see a dream fulfilled

When Sharadashram Vidyamandir coach Naresh Churi met actor Nana Patekar and explained to him about his dream project “Chala Cricket Khelooya” (let’s play cricket ), where children in the under-13 age category, who play ‘gulli cricket’ would be given free education at Shivaji Park, Patekar wasted no time in agreeing to Churi’s proposal and said: “Just let me know what you want, I’m ready to help.”

Heres hoping that this doesn't turn out to be the flavor of the day; that this endevour is sustained and given enough media attention to spread the message.
---
And before I forget, here is the spin-meister himself, on how to better the County game. One of the suggestions that stood out for me was

I still have a beef with the system of bonus points. Personally, I would not bother with them at all so that sides play for a win without anything to confuse the issue. Sometimes scoring 300 quickly is better in the context of the game than grinding out 400, so it is wrong that the second way earns a couple of extra points. They do not always make for attacking cricket. The balance between 14 points for a win and four for a draw is all right because there is every incentive to push for victory. But with eight points available on top, suddenly a haul of 12 points is not too bad. You can play negatively from first to last and come away with a fair return.

I appreciate that in rain-affected games there has to be something for sides who may want to play brilliantly aggressive cricket but are denied by the weather. My concern is that players come through the system who have not been used to playing under the pressure of trying to win from any situation. As Hampshire captain, I have always said that I will do anything to keep games alive. At times in the past, that has meant being more generous than I would have liked with declarations to make sure we are still in contention. In the long run I believe that produces better, tougher characters. I also think that the game is best kept simple so that crowds can understand what is going on. (And players, for that matter). Maybe the answer is simply to award more points for success. Say, 20. The difference of 28 for a win with full bonus points and 12 as the maximum for a draw puts a better value on the results.