The other Mr Chopra

here.

Which reminded me of this.

The ball, is in Chris Broad's court.

Dear Mr Chopra..

My comment on Akash Chopra's latest offering on Cricinfo.

Will Mr Chopra please own up to some personal responsibility instead of whingeing about everything under the sun?
First there was the DDCA who were to blame for Mr Chopra not seeing Gautam Gambhir score a double ton, now it is the scheduling that is responsible for Delhi's current predicament.

How about admitting the fact that Delhi's batsmen, led by their captain, are not good enough or bat long enough to give their bowlers some rest?

And finally "In the past I would have tried to prevent people from scoring easy centuries" - nice way to belittle the achievements of your peers.. Just what is expected from the captain of the National Champions!

Cheers,

I fully expect this comment to not see the light of the day - it is not in keeping with the usual "how great you are Akash" theme that forms the bulk of the comments.

The big fight

The board of Control for Cricket in India has asked the International Cricket Council to remove Clive Lloyd, the former West Indian captain, from his post as chairman of the ICC's Cricket Committee following some remarks Lloyd made at a public function in Mumbai recently.

Lloyd had expressed hope that the Indian Premier League and the Indian Cricket League could co-exist, saying, "There's nothing like having a discussion to break the ice. Just like the United States president Barack Obama said 'you have to speak to people'. They [IPL and ICL] both need to understand their agendas and work accordingly."

The former West Indian great, who has replaced Sunil Gavaskar as the head of the ICC's cricket committee, added, "Leagues similar to the IPL and ICL will not only bring young talented players in the national team but will also make their basics clear."

In doing so he has incurred the BCCI's wrath. "When Mr Gavaskar was chairman of the cricket committee, he was told he had to choose between making certain comments, as a television commentator and as a journalist and holding an important ICC post. Why should it be any different with Mr Lloyd," a source in the Indian board observed.

When Gavaskar headed the ICC's cricket committee his trenchant columns attracted severe criticism from Australia and England, who were often the target of Gavaskar's blunt opinions. At the time David Morgan, ICC president, said: "There is a concern that he (Gavaskar) is chairman of the cricket committee and a journalist who has expressed some fairly outspoken comments." With the cries of a conflict of interest growing louder every day, Gavaskar finally had to choose between his ICC post and the freedom to express his views as he pleased. He chose the latter, and now the BCCI is demanding that Lloyd do the same.

The BCCI contends that the issue of the ICL and whether it should be given authorized unofficial cricket is still being discussed by the ICC and its members. Therefore Lloyd really had no right to comment one way or the other on its status. The BCCI will also say that Lloyd, by going public with his statements, is showing a lack of respect to the ICC and to member boards who are working on the issue on an ongoing basis. The other aspect that will have the BCCI up in arms is that the ICL is, essentially, a domestic issue and the ICC has thus far left it to the Indian board to handle. The ICC's cricket committee has no jurisdiction over this and Lloyd making these statements could be construed as interference.

A source confirmed that the BCCI had already made its stand clear, in writing to the ICC.

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, and David Morgan, were unavailable for comment on the issue.

Negotiations with the ECB, the tiff with Sri Lanka,the Champions League, the sanctity of Test cricket all pale in comparison with this.

This is going to become the next major showdown between the BCCI and the ICC. And I fully expect this to be bloody.

Fun!

Peter Lalor on Matthew Hayden

NO matter how calm a cricketer tries to be amid the distractions on and off the field, karma has a way of sinking its frustrating teeth into his behind.

Matthew Hayden may have had reason to rue his own words when he took strike at the Gabba yesterday.

Lacking diplomacy last week, the big Queenslander had blamed "Third World" conditions for some of the over-rate problems on the subcontinent. He pointed out there were often delays because of sightscreen malfunctions and the like.

"Often we find ourselves with hands on hips waiting for someone to either face up or someone in the sightboard to move away - all the little frustrations that happen in Third World countries," Hayden had said.

India exploded with righteous indignation.

It was unfortunate because Hayden is a long-time fan of the country and an enthusiastic tourist to the subcontinent. The big man loves the big place and embraces its culture with genuine warmth.

He had been singing Indian cricket's praises just minutes before dropping the phrase, but by now Australian cricketers of all people should know that ill-chosen words can cause all sorts of problems.

And so there was Hayden back in the alleged first world and ready to face the first ball at the Gabba yesterday.

The ground was a bomb site after storms the night before. The large white sails that once formed the roof above one section of the stand lay shredded across a broad expanse of the seats while engineers were called to test the structural integrity of the supporting pylons.

A few weeks ago the Australians had been disappointed to see the small crowds attending Indian Tests, but only 12,498 people showed up yesterday.

The fans with tickets to the damaged area and the corporates who were due to eat in the dining room below were redirected to other sections of the ground. There was plenty of room.

Later a section of sail fell down on to an inhabited section blocking their view.

Outside traffic was diverted as cranes were brought in to repair the damage.

Play started half an hour late because the covers had blown off during the night and the square had taken a soaking. Ground staff worked feverishly with oversized hair dryers trying to fix the problem.

As Chris Martin stood at the top of his mark ready to deliver the first ball of the game, Hayden pulled away. There was a problem with movement near the sightscreen.

Play was delayed for a few more minutes while the fourth umpire climbed into the relevant section and suggested the entrance above it not be used.

A few overs later there was another delay as Tim Southee waited to bowl. Again there were sightscreen problems. After much arm waving, somebody realised what was going on but more time was lost. The same thing happened later and drinks were taken early.

New Zealand's cricketers were patient and understanding. After all it wasn't as bad as they had put up with the week before in the dusty provincial cricketing outpost of Sydney during the tour match. The Paddington end sightscreen there had malfunctioned on Saturday. Come Sunday the Randwick end machine had given up the ghost.

The ground staff decided to use two small tractors to shift it when needed, which had led to long delays and comical scenes as the vehicles bucked and slipped and struggled to move the screens.

It's a tough tour for the Kiwis. Jesse Ryder had copped a bad stomach bug from the water or the food and had spent a few days in the team hotel on a drip, but had recovered enough to be back for this Test.

Hayden only lasted 18 minutes at the Gabba yesterday, caught out by the foreign bounce and a touch of indecision.

The day before the match he had said a batsman had two options on such a wicket; belt it or block it. The first 20 overs, he said, were the hardest. As it was, he was done by the trampolining bounce inside 20 balls.

Hayden started to hit his stride in the last two Tests in India. He came into the series after a long lay-off with an injury, struggled to find rhythm and good umpiring in the first pair of matches but was getting there with 83, 16no, 16 and 77 in his last four innings.

Now he has to quickly readjust his game to trying home conditions. Australia's second innings will almost certainly be Hayden's last Test knock at his home ground. He would love to give Queenslanders something to smile about after a hell of a week.

---

Matthew Hayden on Matthew Hayden

MATTHEW HAYDEN has defended the "third-world country" remark that so infuriated India this month, but insisted he meant no disrespect to the nation or its citizens. Senior Indian officials, Mahendra Dhoni and an army of angry bloggers criticised Hayden over the comment, which he used when describing the factors that contributed to Australia's slow over rate during the Border-Gavaskar series. But Hayden, while standing by the comment, feels he has been the victim of "certain sections of humanity [who] want to take someone like myself down".

"The politics of cricket has gone mad," Hayden told The Tonk. "One of the things I love the most about India, is that you walk around the back of the hotel, and there's a man who's selling peanuts on the street for one cent a month, and he holds his head so high, and is so proud, as if he was making $2 million a month. It frustrates me that certain sections of humanity want to take someone like myself down, who is a really great admirer of the country, and who has really built his career on the back of the country in a very proud and honoured way.

"We've had our competitive spats, but I'm sure that's only enhanced the reputation of India. It's made them play better against me, and I've played better against them. I stand by what I said. There is a large portion of India that is third world, that is below the poverty line. But from my experience, it is those people who I admire the most. They are the ones who send out the messages of love and passion and have that amazing enthusiasm for life. I greatly admire, and appreciate, all the wonderful sentiments they have conveyed to me over the years, and for anyone to suggest otherwise is way off the mark."

---

But Dan, this is not India!

Daniel Vettori will look skywards and pray the coin tumbles his way tomorrow as New Zealand eye a rare chance to place Australia under pressure in the first cricket test.

The toss looms as vital on a Gabba surface which has been under cover after several days of rain and will provide some seam movement, if the weather allows a start on time at 1pm (NZT).

As the sun fought its way through the cloud after another night of torrential downpours, Vettori admitted the onus was on him to call correctly to give his side a chance of belying their status as $A9.50 outsiders.

Outpointing Delhi!

As I type this

Mumbai vs DDCA (scores will be updated after every 10 overs)

Mumbai

1st Innings - 330/10 in 110.3 overs Ajinkya Rahane - 160, Amol Muzumdar 83, S Narwal 4/43

2nd Innings - 313/1 in 68 overs Sahil Kukreja - 148*, Ajinkya Rahane - 64*, Wasim Jaffer - 98

DDCA

1st Innings - 295/10 in 94.3 overs Sairaj Bahutule - 3/44, Ramesh Powar 3/54, Ajit Agarkar - 2/64

SWEET!!!

Just say NO!

The ECB is considering a request from the BCCI to push back the first Test between England and India by a day to allow breathing space for both teams between the two-match series that starts on December 11 and the Champions Twenty20 League that ends the previous night.

Sorry, but no can do.. The schedule has been decided in advance, and just because some BCCI drone deems a cooked up Twenty20 tournament to be more important than an already agreed upon itinerary does not mean the BCCI should have it its way.

If the ECB does not step to the plate, the TV companies should.. Ditto the advertisers.. And the local associations and ticket holders.

Allow the BCCI to get away with this ( their sloppiness with the scheduling the Champions League and their arrogance in trying to change schedules to suit their whims) and this will be only the first of the many instances world cricket will have to face in the coming years.

Call the BCCI's bluff - just say NO!

Killing 'em softly

First ODI

INDIA
dot balls - 125
singles - 111
twos - 12

ENGLAND
dot balls - 110
singles - 79
twos - 8

Second ODI

INDIA
dot balls - 146
singles - 100
twos - 16

ENGLAND
dot balls - 169
singles - 77
twos - 9

Yuvraj Singh. India's power hitting. Strike rates. Just a few of the things that have dominated the narrative following the first two ODI's against England.

The one component of the narrative being paid scant attention is this - India have outperformed England in the small ball stakes.

Battle plans for any contest are based upon certain assumptions. And stereotypes. And some well established canons.

Playing cricket against India brings about its own set of assumptions.

Enter left, Mickey Arthur -

Any visiting team should be able to outfield India. Whereas Steyn might dive to stop a boundary at fine leg, Ishant Sharma will stick a boot out and it will go for four. India's fielding has improved but they're some way off most teams.

Enter right - Ricky Ponting

We did a lot of planning and a lot of thinking leading into the last Test series here four years ago, trying to develop a style of play that would firstly negate boundaries and make them bat for long periods of time with the scoreboard barely ticking over.

(The tacit assumption being that Indians are loathe to look for the singles and twos.)

Both of these assumptions have been turned on their heads in the first two ODIs.

When a Gautam Gambhir pushes the ball, off his back foot, to Paul Collingwood and completes the run safely, it not only turns established assumptions on its head but also helps creat self doubt in the minds of the opposition.

Which is precisely what has happened.

Any team can get bashed around. And more often than not, teams can leave behind heavy losses much more easily than close defeats.

However, when a team is challenged in areas where it is clearly the superior unit, it creates, at some level, doubts about the overall gameplan as well as a questioning of one's abilities.

Which in turn leads to a loss of confidence.Which is what England faces at this moment.