And the beat goes on... flip flop flip....

Yesterday it was

And the thorny issue of whether Pakistan will be able to travel to India and play World Cup games there is yet to be resolved.

Butt said the final decision on whether Pakistani cricketers will be allowed to go to India will be taken by the government.

''It's for our government to decide about it,'' he said.

Last year, India refused to send its team to Pakistan after a terrorist attack in Mumbai in November.

Since then, both countries have suspended sporting ties though there have been a couple of minor breakthroughs with Pakistan sending its squash and table tennis colts across the border for international events earlier this summer.

When asked whether there are any contingency plans in case political situation in 2011 prevents his team to play on Indian soil, Butt said there will be no World Cup without Pakistan.

''Off course, there are contingency plans,'' Butt said.

''If there are security problems then the World Cup will go to Australia and New Zealand. But if by any chance Pakistan cannot take part in it, then there will be no World Cup,'' stressed Butt, a former Test cricketer.

Today it is

Well-placed sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board told PTI that ICC President David Morgan, during his talks with PCB chairman Ejaz Butt, had assured that he would try to convince the BCCI to play a series in England.

"Morgan has made no promises but has assured Pakistan he would use his good offices to try to organise such a series next year," a source said.

India have suspended bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan since last November's the Mumbai terror attacks.

"The proposal is for three Tests, three One-dayers and a couple of Twenty20 matches," the source said.

He said Morgan had assured Pakistan he would try to do everything to help them overcome the financial loss caused due to the sifting of the World Cup matches from here due to security reasons.

Pakistan is due to play Australia next year in England apart from a separate series against Andrew Strauss' men.

"If India agrees the series could be squeezed in at a time when both teams are free of international commitments," the source said.

The source said Butt told Morgan that the PCB would lose nearly $70 million from television rights deal with Dubai based Ten Sports network if India didn't play a bilateral series in Pakistan.

Based on his utterences, Ijaz Butt makes a solid case for administrators to be included in the WADA regime!

The last post

Because I cannot be bothered anymore.

What point pontificating about the game when the outcome of a marquee series can be predicted so far in advance?

What point talking about the nuances and the vagaries of the game when the only nuance is the pitch being rolled twice instead of thrice and the only vagary is the wicket having four blades of grass instead of one?

Test Cricket is a joke, with anodyne wickets rolled out and semi skilled batsmen piling on runs like there is no tomorrow. And while it may provide enjoyment to some, I want no part of it.

"It's a fact of life that cricket can only survive and grow through finance, and much of that finance comes from revenue generated by broadcast and sponsorship revenue and attendances. So if matches don't run the distance, that can hit clubs and boards in the pocket."

"The ICC has not issued any such directive since my involvement with it began in 1999. It is also incorrect to say that the ICC wants to standardise pitches worldwide. Nothing is further from the truth. The preparation of pitches for all Test matches and ODIs is a matter entirely for each individual home board to manage when they are staging a match or a series under their control. "

When the ICC pitches manager makes the above comments with a straight face, no amount of pink balls and day night cricket and other fancy gimmicks is going to revive the game.

And thats fine by me.

I am content watching ODIs. Or Twenty 20 cricket. Because atleast then the expectations are clear - flat wicket, bowler's graveyard, batsmen swinging across the line. And the monotony lasts a few hours, not a few days.

When I first started analyzing Test series, it was in early 2003. India was to tour Australia and the Willow package cost $149.99. And conventional wisdom was that India would repeat its 1999 showing, if not a 4-0 mauling. With 150 bucks on the line, a cost benefit exercise was necessary. And I went ahead and bought the package, hoping against hope that India would turn out a credible performance and not get humiliated. They did better that expected.

By the time the South Africa series came around, it was much easier. It was simply a question of juxtaposing the strength of schedule, quality wins and player match ups. Because player match ups mattered then.

Shiraz prices led to an assessment of how India would fare in Australia but by the time the return series happened, the assessment was not even a challenge.

Ditto the South Africa tour to Australia. And now, the Ashes.

The one that got away was the return series in South Africa. But that was more to do with not factoring the South Africans not playing competitive cricket than an assessment of strengths and weaknesses.

So, what point assessing a series when the outcome of marquee series can be predicted based on who has the greater number of bowlers and the more variety in their bowling stocks and the stamina to bowl on dead, unresponsive wickets?

The joy of analysis for me is to be proven wrong in the analysis. Because that helps me re-evaluate and come up with more robust analyses. But given the way Test cricket is shaping up, its good bye to all that.

I would much rather focus on the domestic scene, where new and exiting talent is on display all the time. And where the expectations are lower and correspondingly, the disappointments.

And if that ceases to excite me, I will be content just watching him play-


With an unorthodox batting stance and the right team colors and with a seam position like this, whats not to like?

And in conclusion, I want to that each and every one of you who took time off their busy schedules to indulge me on the blog. Your readership was a huge motivation for sustaining the blog for over 2 and a half years. And to all of you who commented, a big thank you. Your insights have helped broaden my horizons and have helped me have a better understanding of the various facets and nuances of the game. But for you, my understanding of the game would have been limited.You have helped me stretch the boundaries of my limitations.

The tamasha will go on, but the dopaisekatamasha ends here.

Cheers.

Steps in the right direction

The BCCI has already disbursed Rs. 4 crore to each of the 25 State units as advance against TV subsidy

The BCCI increased the 2009-10 Ranji Trophy winner’s prize from Rs. 60 lakh to Rs. 2 crore

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Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India at the working committee meeting here on Thursday said that its 25 State units would receive around Rs. 20 crore each for fiscal year 2008-09 as their share from the annual television subsidy and money earmarked from the IPL-II held in South Africa.

They were also informed that should all the international engagements be held in the 2009-10 fiscal year, the associations were likely to receive between Rs. 24 and Rs. 28 crore.

The BCCI has already disbursed Rs. 100 crore (Rs. 4 crore to each of the 25 State units) as advance against TV subsidy. In the coming months and after its 80th AGM there in the last week of September, the BCCI will remit the balance amount of around Rs. 500 crore.

“The sum would have been much more, but there was a revenue shortfall of Rs.59 crore because of the cancellation of the Pakistan tour and the curtailment of the England tour,” said Rajiv Shukla, Chairman of the Finance Committee, BCCI. The Champions League T20 was also cancelled after the terrorist attack in Mumbai.

Last year the 25-member units received a sum between Rs. 14 and 18 crore from the TV subsidy alone, with Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) receiving a maximum of Rs. 18.60 crore. In addition they received around. Rs.8 crore each from the IPL-I revenue.

First class players

The BCCI did not disappoint the first class players in the country. At its Working Committee meeting the BCCI increased the 2009-10 Ranji Trophy winner’s prize from Rs. 60 lakh to Rs. 2 crore.

It also earmarked Rs. 1 crore for the runner-up and Rs. 50 lakh each for the losing semifinalists.

With the increase in prize money for the national championship winner, an Elite Group cricketer who would play 11 or 10 matches league and knock out matches and goes on to be part of the Ranji Trophy winning team would take home around Rs. 19 lakh or Rs. 18 lakh.

And a Plate League cricketer who would play a maximum of eight league and knock out matches would take home around Rs. 13 lakh. In addition a cricketer who plays an additional 25 days of senior tournaments in the Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup and the inter-State one-day tournaments will take another Rs. 10 lakh, even should the BCCI maintain Rs. 40,000 match fee per day.

There was good news for women cricketers too, but they may be somewhat disappointed with the Rs. one lakh fee per player for each tour the national team undertakes. But they receive the same daily allowance of around $70, which is what the men receive.

The BCCI also announced a bonus of Rs. one lakh to each player and support staff of the Emerging Players’ team that won a limited overs tournament in Brisbane recently.

The BCCI also revised the domestic match-fee (IPL not included) of the umpires from the 2009-10 season. An umpire will receive Rs. 7,500 per match day out of which Rs. 3,750 per match-day will go towards the Benevolent Fund. The umpires and Match Referees (IPL excepted) will receive Rs. 10,000 per match-day.

Other decisions taken at the Working Committee were (1) to make the former ICL players eligible for the IPL-III with a franchise asked pay a minimum fee of Rs. 8 lakh and a maximum of Rs. 20 lakh (2) to retain Amish Saheba and nominate Shavir Tarapore in the ICC International Panel and Sanjay Hazare as the ICC International TV panel (3) to establish specialised coaching centres at Mumbai (batting), Mohali (bowling) and Chennai (spinners and wicketkeepers), (4) to appoint specialist coaches on an annual retainership (5) to establish an Umpire’s Academy (6) reject KSCA’s request to hire outstation players in the Karnataka Premier League (KPL).

The BCCI President Shashank Manohar released the NCA coaching manual at the meeting. Present at the release function was Dav Whatmore, Direct Operations, National Cricket Academy.

East v West

or when "magical wrists" meet "sweaty brows"!

The case for isolation

Does India need International Cricket?

I say that the costs outweigh the benefits and that channeling our attention and energies towards domestic cricket will do India a world of good.

Ideally, I would like the Indian domestic scene to be structured like the NFL. And like the NFL, the game will be played on our terms, devoid of any outside interference, including the ICC.

As the two editions of the IPL showed, the BCCI has the capacity to organize and to market the game like no one else does.

And given the narrative of the Ranji Trophy over the last 4 seasons, there is a ready product available for the BCCI to exploit if they can only get themselves interested.

No more having to kow tow to all and sundry within the ICC, no more being held hostage to the whims and fancies or Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia or anyone else who wants to take a pot shot at us for the heck of it, no more of having to comply with rules and officials despite our reservations.

No more trying to shore up the ICC by contributing up to 70% of its monies while having to incur all the opprobrium for its inadequacies.

We have the talent, and the visible talent is but the tip of the iceberg. We have the fan base, we have the infrastructure. More can be done and should be done, but on our terms alone.

Our game, our terms, our way.That's all.

Faster is better

Batsmen’s strike rates were once not collected; now they are an integral part of the game. Cricket’s attitudes towards its fielding statistics needs rethinking, especially since fielding, in every sensible cricket fan’s mind, has changed dramatically, and for the better, in the course of the last twenty years.

Read more.. here.