Knowing your resources and using them
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | ||
| JEC Franklin | 7 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 2.28 | (1w) | |
| SE Bond | 10 | 1 | 26 | 2 | 2.60 | (1nb, 1w) | |
| JDP Oram | 5 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 4.60 | ||
| JS Patel | 10 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 3.60 | ||
| DL Vettori | 10 | 0 | 50 | 1 | 5.00 | (1w) | |
| SB Styris | 3 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 5.33 | (2w) | |
| CD McMillan | 5 | 0 | 23 | 3 | 4.60 |
| | | | |
the BCCI thinking is-
Ranji captains, coaches meet in Mumbai on April 20
will be overshadowed by
Indian team for Bangladesh tour to be picked on April 20
which will be overshadowed by
Abhishek-Ash to wed on April 20
heh!
"I took 39 wickets in the series and a journalist phoned up my mum. She wouldn't speak to the press, ever, but eventually someone got through to her. They said: 'What about your son! Isn't it marvellous what he's done!' All she said was: 'Well, he's a bowler. That's what he's supposed to do, isn't it? Get wickets.' And that was the end of it.Sir Alec Bedser speaks.
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.
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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.
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.
Respected Hon. Shri Sharadchandraji raoji Pawarji,
Since tis is the season of letters, what with the BCCI writing to Sachin and Yuvraj and both of them writing right back, yours humbly decided to join the bandwagon.
If you could spare a couple of moments off negotiating revenues with Cricket Australia and the cricketers and thier agents and trying to generate additional revenues for an already cash rich BCCI, there is the small matter of India hosting the World Cup in 4 years time.
A humble request Sir - Could you be so kind as to direct your minions to at least start looking at ( not addressing, mind you) the conditions of the stadiums in India; especially the ones which are going to host the World Cup games?
Maybe you could look at this or may be this as a starting point.
Yours in gratitude and with the deepest humility,
Homer
“I want to talk to the players and make them all understand what I want, that will be the first step for me as captain for this tour,”
This kid is going to go places; if we handle him carefully.
one can be condescending
How bizarreor charitable
No, we're not talking about the 1996 hit from OMC, but about a group of fans who kept chanting, "India, India" midway through the Bangladesh innings. But even they were eclipsed in the Joke of the Day stakes by another character who was waving a flag that said: East or West, India is the Best. Too much sun perhaps?
Take your pick.
Richard Earle; rather his article on Greg Chappell post Chappell's return to Australia.
Salient features include these gems
India's shock exit from the World Cup caused angry mobs to riot in the streets of Calcutta.Right - obviously Mr.Earle is privy to events none of the Indians are privy to.
Chappell lashed out at Indian media for exaggerating a pre-flight health complaint in Mumbai.
Chappell said reports he was admitted to hospital with a serious illness were incorrect.
"It was just a minor thing that they obviously made into something bigger," said Chappell of his ailment, which was reportedly a combination of stress and dehydration.
"The health is fine, there is no drama other than what the media made of it.
"I just had some tests done to make sure I was in good health to fly and come back to Australia."
Yeah okay... So here are the media reports ; mind that the Aussie newspapers are quoting PTI or 'From correspondents in Mumbai, India".
was the first cricketing autobiography I had got my hands on.
I did not know then that the author was involved in a teeny little partnership with Garfield St. Auburn Sobers - to the tune of 446 runs, against Pakistan.
I was not aware of the Brisbane Tied Test or his role in it nor did Moral Re-Armament mean anything to me.
No one had told me before I read the book that he had been overlooked for captaincy despite serving as vice-captain to Worrell or Worrell's statement before the England series - "We are playing to win and enjoy ourselves in doing so".
THE COMMISSION FOR PAN AFRICAN AFFAIRS has partnered with the Sir Conrad Hunte Memorial Foundation in hosting a lecture series in honour of the late cricket legend.
25th over: Bangladesh 97-6 Plunkett is on for Flintoff. This, as a window into the English sporting psyche, is a truly miserable experience: this should have been done after 20 overs and I should be on my way home. "How can we ensure that all pitches are as sporting as this one?" says Gary Naylor. "I say this. Golf has a device called the stimpmeter which is used to measure the pace of greens. Such a device should not be impossible to invent for a cricket pitch, especially with Hawkeye's data capture technology. Should international venue squares fail the "stimpmeter" test, the technology is there to produce a drop-in pitch which can pass. Only when squares consistently pass the 'stimpmeter' test, should they be absolved of the obligation to use drop-ins for international cricket. The result will be better, more exciting, more skilful cricket, and an end to the 'Dibbly Dobblers' in ODIs - I can see them any weekend on the village green."
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Maybe the BCCI could use some variant to determine "fast and lively" wickets eh!
and then there are issues.
Siddharth Monga gives a low down of the BCCI decisions and the issues plaguing the Indian domestic scene in this article.
Quite a few of the questions raised by Monga and other are unanswered of course, the BCCI being engrossed in discussing endorsements with players.
Meanwhile, on the eastern border, they are doing things a little differently-Australia will continue to help Bangladesh with their cricket development after the two nations agreed to a new two-year deal. Cricket Australia (CA) will prepare a coaching manual, train Bangladeshi coaches, establish an umpires' management system and train young players at Australia's Centre of Excellence.
--
The England fielding performance is.
Exhibit A
WICKET! Bashar run out 4 (Bangladesh 23-2) When they bat England are fond of glove-touching, almost offensively so, but Mahmood is varying that theme here by ramming a series of short balls onto the gloves of Bashar. Ouch. That's the length, so Saj only knows why he then pitches the next ball up and is driven for a single. Still, it matters not because a wicket comes later in the over. Nafees scooped a kicking delivery to mid-on, where Vaughan dropped an unbelievably simple chance - but because the chance was so straightforward, the two Bangladeshi batsmen were faffing in the middle of the pitch, and so Bashar was miles short of the crease when Vaughan threw the ball to Nixon. Truly astonishing ineptitude from both sides there: Vaughan was only throwing the ball to Nixon out of frustration - he didn't even know Bashar was out of his ground.
Exhibit B
WICKET! Nafees c Strauss b Mahmood 9 (Bangladesh 26-3) This is too easy for England. Nafees reached for a full, wide delivery but could only snick it to Nixon. He fumbled another sitter, but Strauss was there to pouch the rebound.
(Commentary link - here)
pointedly ..
Exhibit A
Indians v Derbyshire - June 1996
But it was the appearance of Malcolm to open the Derbyshire innings and score a dozen of the 13 runs needed for only the county's second victory over India which sparked the furious outburst from the Indian management.
Patil explained: ``Azza completely lost his cool in the dressing room and lashed out over this. He will now take a very hard line on every issue between now and the second Test with the complete support of the tour management.
``It was an insult and a humiliation to see Malcolm coming out to bat like that but we do not blame Derbyshire or their captain Dean Jones. It was all our own fault and we ought to be completely ashamed of what is happening.
Exhibit B
the first coming eighty four minutes into proceedings with the sight of one of the most bizarre acts of declaration imaginable. After the Tasmanians had hitherto appeared unwilling to pull the pin on their batting exhibition, most observers were taken by surprise when the closure did actually materialise at 5/548. This surprise turned into near amazement when unbeaten batsman Shaun Young (62*) seemed to make a unilateral decision to end the Tasmanians' effort, tucking his bat under his arm and striding off to the pavilion after teammate Scott Kremerskothen had eased the last delivery of a Bharadwaj over into the leg side for a single. Even Kremerskothen appeared oblivious to the declaration, only sheepishly following his partner off and the umpires and Indians did not depart for at least another minute after that.A little background to the above episode - Jamie Cox, when quizzed at the end of the third day about a declaration, opined that since the Indians were an International team, the onus lay with the Indians to take all 10 Tasmanian wickets and not depend on him for a declaration.
---
Although Mumbai batted first and ended up scoring only 218, both teams agreed to bend the rules. Australia's target was revised to 300 to allow their batsmen to gain more practice and make the game more competitive for the large number of spectators who filled up the temporary stands erected outside the ground.--
BCCI's statement in full
The Indian domestic season runs roughly from mid-October through mid-March. A cursory glance at
The series that are lined up are not trivial either.
And if Lalit Modi has his way, there will be a ton of inconsequential ODIs thrown into the mix to meet contractual obligations.
So, effectively, we are left with the winter of 2009 before this particular clause can even come into play.
2. Every Association will be directed to prepare fast and lively wickets for domestic tournaments.
Another eyewash.
That the BCCI is compelled to make this statement despite ground realities shows how distanced they are from their own operations.
In an earlier post, I had highlighted the result/draw numbers of some of the more "prominent" venues in
Directing associations to produce "fast and lively wickets is one thing, ensuring that the "fast and lively" wickets are not tampered with quite another.
This is one point that I have no issues with - take away the built in biases that home curators have for their team and make the playing field more even.
The
And when the Board talks of uniformity of coaching, has it taken any steps to regulate coaching in
Why aren't the Board or local associations focused on this aspect of coaching? Along with having State Academies in place by 2009, why not also regulate coaching by this time frame?
By doing so, state selectors for all age groups will at least have an idea of the base minimum skills the individual players they are selecting have and the standard of coaching will be baselined.
This has been hailed as the big step forward by all and sundry. I think this is an eyewash. The reason I think this is an eyewash is because this comes into effect within a year’s time.
If the Board truly desired to do away with Zonal representation, they could have set themselves a more ambitious deadline - before the selection of the team for
Amending the Constitution is a technicality, and Pawar rules the roost so getting the amendment is a non issue.
There is in place a selection committee that is "honorary" in nature and who will sit to decide
How difficult is it for the Board to decide terms of remuneration for these 5 worthies as a start and then, over the period of one year, do away with the Zonal nature of the Committee?
If the intent is there, this could have been implemented within the month - we will have to wait for a year by which time this proposal would have been forgotten.
Nice - but will Lalit Modi and his team really exert themselves in working out these schedules with the required diligence? Please do remember that there are no revenues to be generated from these tours.
Also, will the A team selection be done in tandem with the Team Manager, coaches and Selection Committee of the senior team?
The need to blood youngsters was there even if we had won the World Cup. And
That said, we will need the senior players for the more high profile tours to
So, youth first - yes, but a little more nuanced.
No names were mentioned. No names have been mentioned. Don’t expect any names to be mentioned either.
Look Mama, I can a voice.. Let me make some noise. Ho hum!
10. Working Committee approved the Performance-based Payment to the players and decided to do away with the present gradation for Retainership. Apart from the payment, the following points would form a part of the contract.
· A player will endorse not more than 3 sponsors / products
· No Sponsor can contract more than 2 players.
· The players will not be allowed to do any sponsor-related events 15 days before the tour and also during the tour.
· Before every tour, all the contracted players have to undergo a fitness test and only those who fulfill the benchmarks will be considered for selection.
· No player shall have exclusive contracts with electronic or print media. Only the captain can write a column or talk to the media but not exclusively.
· The players shall take prior approval of the Board before signing any endorsement contract and will submit a copy of the agreement to the Board. All the players shall submit a copy of the existing contracts with sponsors to the Board.
· All the players will have to play a stipulated number of domestic matches when not playing for
· In the event of injury to the player, the Board will compensate him the match fees that he would have earned for a maximum period of six months.
The BCCI knows that without the players, it has nothing to show for as an organization. The BCCI also knows that it needs to crack the whip to keep the players in line every once in a while. Hence the thunder and the fury first up, and then the sops .
Expect a little more of the give and take and lots of happy family statements over the next few days.
11. The Working Committee decided to form a Cricket Advisory committee consisting of the following ex - captains: Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, MAK Pataudi, Chandu Borde, Ravi Shastri, Krish Srikkanth and S Venkataraghavan under the Chairmanship of President [Sharad Pawar] and will include all the Office Bearers.
Jobs for the Boys!!!
Wont hold my breath waiting for the current “proposals” to materialize!!
