Thursday, August 07, 2008

All's not well

in the Emerald Isles

Posted by Homer at 8/07/2008 06:36:00 PM

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

After the first set of jokers, looks like arjuna is all set to join the jokers hall of fame.

But I must say that article is hilarious for one thing... a pay hike for these players because the cost of living has gone up..LOL

10:44 PM, August 07, 2008
Anonymous said...

all that talk about 'players should become administrators' is being seriously disproved by Ranatunga

8:31 AM, August 08, 2008
Samir Chopra said...

Nice googly with the post title and subtitle. I thought you were referring to the Indian middle-order.

9:34 AM, August 08, 2008
Homer said...

lol Scorpi :)

9:44 AM, August 08, 2008
Homer said...

I agree Namya.. Ranatunga has taken all established canons and turned them on their heads

Cheers,

9:44 AM, August 08, 2008
Homer said...

Samir,

Dunno what to make of the Indian middle order - there is so much class there that one would believe they can work themselves out of the current slump. At the same time, Ganguly and Dravid look so palpably out of depth that it looks like the end of the road for them.

Australia, England and Pakistan - a road too far ?

Cheers,

9:47 AM, August 08, 2008
Samir Chopra said...

Homer,

I agree on all counts. If Dravid and Ganguly can't get their act together at home against a more traditional attack (taking the charitable view that anyone would be done in by Mendis) then its the end of the road for them.

Cheers,
Samir

12:06 PM, August 08, 2008
Soulberry said...

Interesting times ahead and the first step ogf transition may be much closer than we expected. How about appending Sachin to the list? Can India afford his nervousness before any personal milestone any longer? Or, his erratic comebacks from his frequent layoffs before finally peaking to a couple of innings before the next injury/rest layoff?

Can we really afford to carry four players? Do we have enough beef in the rest of the team to sport a midriff in such an emaciated state with so much pride and accomodation...what about safety issues? The entire body could collapse if the midships are weak!

10:21 PM, August 08, 2008
Prabu said...

Did you see this Homer?

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/364138.html

Really, Virat Kohli? How long before Badri moves to ICL, especially if he continues to get $30k every year on IPL. Here's a guy who has always said that he believes in the system and will wait for his chance and you can see how crestfallen he must be.

5:39 AM, August 09, 2008
Anonymous said...

Samir,

The England series will be a good time to blood some of the young pups..

Come October and we will know..

Cheers,

3:55 PM, August 09, 2008
Anonymous said...

SB,

We cannot carry 4 players but we cannot also jettison all of them at the same time - it will leave too big a hole in the middle order..

Of the four, who are the likeliest to be dropped first?

Cheers,

3:57 PM, August 09, 2008
Anonymous said...

Prabu,

Badri is an idiot - this is the last selection for this particular selection committee.

For him to open his mouth now is pretty stupid in my opinion..

Badri will play Test Cricket before he plays ODIs and the test team is some time before it is selected.

If Subramanian Badrinath wants to make it to the Indian team via ODIs and Twenty20 and not Test Cricket, he is welcome to play for the ICL, I wont shed any tears for him.

Cheers,

4:00 PM, August 09, 2008
Prabu said...

Homer,

I think I would prefer Badri plays the tests as well. But the point is the fact that the selectors really haven't told him where he stands. What if one of the young guys does great in the ODI series - they will be ahead of Badri in the fray. If that is not the case, the selectors have to let the guy know that they are keeping him for the tests. While you and I may think Badri may be best suited for the tests, every player wants to plays in all forms and Badri has done well in List As and T20s to feel that he can play all forms of the game. And if this is the last selection by this committee, they cannot hold him back thinking that he will be selected for tests - it is not certain that the next selection committee will follow the ideas of this committe, no?

11:02 PM, August 09, 2008
Soulberry said...

Homer...you amaze me with your ability to think beyond the ordinary...you are our Sherlock Holmes :) (applause for your last comment here about Badri whi should have hung on)

4:00 PM, August 10, 2008
Anonymous said...

Prabu,

When was the last time that a selection committee pulled a player aside and told him exactly where he stood in the pecking order?

Dhoni captained Badri in the IPL.. Kumble has played against him in Ranji and zonal games.

Badri himself was captain of the A team and the Emerging Players that toured Australia - it is not as if he is completely out of the picture..

He will get into the team sooner rather than later - he is too class an act to be left in the sidelines.

Cheers,

4:02 PM, August 10, 2008
Homer said...

SB,

Thank you Sir - your appreciation means a lot..

Cheers,

11:56 PM, August 10, 2008
Anonymous said...

The Indian middle order can fail as long as they want. Yuvraj definitely is not knocking the doors and Rohit Sharma and Raina haven't quite cemented their places in the ODI team. Pitiably, there are no replacements available.

12:41 PM, August 11, 2008
Anonymous said...

Sorry for straying from the topic with that comment. The other comments led me to that. Going by their performances in Lanka, can we expect a revision in the packages offered to the Indian seniors?

(I frequent your blogs from office Homer, but i can't comment as they are blocked due to policy restrictions.)

12:44 PM, August 11, 2008
Anonymous said...

12th man,

Wecome to the blog and thanks for your comments..

Badri can take up one of the middle order slots - he has served his apprentciship and is ready to step up ( although why he wants to go the T20/ODi route into Test cricket befuddles me).

Raina and Sharma need to spend atleast one more season in Ranji Trophy cricket before they are ready - Raina needs to work on building tall scores while Sharma needs to learn how to stay switched on from one competition format to another..

The end of this cricket season should see changes in the team ( and I am hopeful that the changes are managed rather than forced).

As regards a revision of packages, it will be fickle on the Board's part to do any such thing - this middle order is our golden generation - their run production is what won us more games away from home than at any other time in our cricketing history.

And I thank you for the time you take to visit the blog :)

Cheers,

1:26 PM, August 11, 2008
Soulberry said...

So we are all agreed that this time there aren't any back-from-the-dead 100s, 200s, or match-winning efforts through an entire series to allow a window of escape for the fab4 from the very spot we all have stood upon together at various times in the past three years?

3:16 PM, August 11, 2008
Anonymous said...

one series SB - the Lankans have hell to pay!

Cheers,

3:19 PM, August 11, 2008
Anonymous said...

one series SB - the Lankans have hell to pay!

Cheers,

3:19 PM, August 11, 2008
Prabu said...

The OZs you mean?

5:05 PM, August 11, 2008
Samir Chopra said...

Raina, Sharma, Tiwary, Badri. These four need to be phased in at some point over the next two years. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Old Man Injury will carry out more team changes than the Merry Band of Selectors.

7:42 AM, August 12, 2008
Soulberry said...

one series SB - the Lankans have hell to pay!

But when do we go back into their den? Could be years away...and thrashim them in India is not as much fun as doing it in their own backyard...cheers!

11:41 PM, August 12, 2008
Anonymous said...

Prabu,

The Aussies too.. And the Lankans, next November!

Cheers,

11:44 PM, August 12, 2008
Anonymous said...

I concur Samir..

Cheers,

11:44 PM, August 12, 2008
Anonymous said...

True SB, but a trashing is a trashing :)


Cheers,

11:45 PM, August 12, 2008
Unknown said...

interesting link... and one more reason why india should not be losing to lanka.

8:47 AM, August 14, 2008

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