Such gracious winners..

Bombed out: Sri Lanka's losers return to warzone

Sri Lanka's losers return

From correspondents in Colombo
May 03, 2007

SRI Lanka's World Cup cricketers returned to an elaborate welcome home today after being stranded in London after Tamil Tiger rebel air raids in Colombo.

The team was received at the VIP lounge of the Bandaranaike International airport where Buddhist monks, Hindu and Catholic priests and Muslim clerics conducted services to bless them.

Officials said they returned on Qatar Airlines after Emirates, on which they were originally booked, pulled out of Colombo after Sunday's Tamil Tiger attacks near the airport.

Sri Lanka Cricket, which had organised elaborate plans to welcome the cricketers who reached the final in the Caribbean, said another welcome ceremony had been arranged in the city, 35 kilometres away.

Emirates and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific suspended their flights to Sri Lanka after Sunday's air raids.

The guerrillas used two light aircraft to bomb two fuel depots near Colombo after crossing Colombo's airspace.

Sri Lanka lost to Australia in Saturday's final in Barbados by 53 runs.

Agence France-Presse

Today..

All those who nurtured the hope that the Australians would have a bad day at the office were left disappointed in the end. Nobody from the Australian team took sick leave, privilege leave or casual leave as they went about their work in real earnest to stamp their authority on the game and show the rest of the cricketing world who was the boss.

Sunny G raises a toast for the Australians.

I am no expert, but I don’t think all is lost. Nor do I believe that India must blindly adopt what Australia or England does.

Wrights John.

The feud between the Indian cricket board and the International Cricket Council (ICC) could get worse. The reason? The ICC was selling green coloured Indian team t-shirts and caps as official merchandise during the World Cup in the West Indies. And the BCCI is not happy.

Calcutta: The Bangladesh-bound players, one understands, have “reservations” over the contracts couriered to them last week, but they’ve got to sign on the dotted line before heading for Dhaka/Chittagong.

writes LP Sahi.

Although the Board of Control for Cricket in India has made some noises to the effect that it would like to see India's players sign their central contracts before the tour of Bangladesh, it is difficult to see this happening, given the extensive work that will go into the lead-up to the actual signing of the contracts.

writes Anand Vasu.

8 more days before we know the outcome on this one.

There are few surprises in the choices, although there is no back-up wicketkeeper or specialist spinner in the side. Ravi Rampaul returns while there is an overdue call-up for allrounder Darren Sammy.

No Tino Best, no Omari Banks, no Marlon Samuels.
--
India plays its three tests against the Poms at Lords, Trent Bridge and Kennington Oval. Here are the scoresheets from the early part of the County Championships on these three grounds.

Kennington Oval

Surrey v Yorkshire
Surrey v Hampshire

Trent Bridge

Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire
Nottinghamshire v Glamorgan

Lords

Middlesex v Northamptonshire

What is interesting is the number of runs scored by the teams so early in the season. Also interesting is the number of wickets taken by the spinners.

Given that we travel to Old Blighty later in the English summer, if the current trend continues, expect drier wickets with a lot more runs and with the spinners coming to their own as the game progresses. 3 spinners anyone?

Blink

Certainly that's what we've always been told. We live in a society dedicated to the idea that we're always better off gathering as much information and spending as much time as possible in deliberation. As children, this lesson is drummed into us again and again: haste makes waste, look before you leap, stop and think. But I don't think this is true. There are lots of situations--particularly at times of high pressure and stress--when haste does not make waste, when our snap judgments and first impressions offer a much better means of making sense of the world.

A lesson for our captain.. And a must read for us - Malcolm Gladwell's website

Today..

"We are all disappointed with our World Cup performance. Maybe our best wasn't enough and we look at you youngsters here as future players who one day might win the cup for us. I want you to make full use of the facilities here, which weren't there when we were playing.

"Have fun but while training be focussed and enjoy it. Training is not punishment and if you look at it that way, you might as well be at home. If you train well now, you can enjoy the later part of your life,"

Kapil Dev interacts with the newest batch of kids at the NCA.

The morning session would be devoted for general fitness drills and fielding practice while the afternoon session would be for nets.

Even the Pankaj Gupta Indoor Centre has been readied in case the rain came down.

All set for the camp prior to India's tour to Bangladesh.

Everywhere teams are obsessed and stimulated by their sporting enemy. But Australia's cricket team has had nobody to provoke it to greatness. It makes them a unique and interesting team.

Rohit Brijnath laments on the lack of competition for the Australian cricket team.

what might actually be happening is that the board might make all the players on the tour sign a document stating only the amount of money they will get for each one-day and test.

Contract season is upon us.

The decisions of this workshop will then be forwarded to the BCCI’s working committee for ratification. Going by the mood, it could be a mere formality.

Sans comment.

The World Cup semi-final surrender should have forever ended the myth that Fleming is the cricket world's top captain.

Ouch

Team of the tournament
Australia come close for maintaining their 100% World Cup record in the 21st century, and three cheers for them, etc. But for unwavering commitment to the cause, a refusal to cave in to pressure, and a self-belief that bordered on the delusional, the winners are the ICC, whose only show of weakness - until their elite umpires and match referees ensured the tournament ended in low farce - came when Malcolm Speed admitted the whole thing had gone on too long. Now that's leadership!

The weekly Spin.

"I'm not afraid to say I am spitting mad. And I'm not the only one who feels this way. To this day I do not know why I did not get an opportunity to play,"

No gag orders here. Mercy be!

What slump? About $15 million worth of ad money is already committed to us for the next financial year. No sensible media buyer can ignore cricket.

Yup..Which is why the BCCI will never get its house in order.

Let the debate begin..

How legal was Adam Gilchrist’s “hidden ball”?

The Cyborg Batsman

Was the "squash ball in the glove" within the rules of the game? And if it was, where do we draw the line as to what is allowed and what is not on the field of play?

Today

Tiger talk.

Indian think-tank look for quick revenge in B'desh. Shastri, Dravid & Co to dodge afternoon heat in camp meant for B’desh acclimatisation ! Pretty self explanatory eh ?

Amit Gupta on what the 5 day camp my hope to achieve.

‘Making the India squad is like passing Class XII… I’ve still got to graduate and, then, do my Master’s…’

How can you not like this guy?

BCCI joint secretary M.P. Pandove, however, was in the dark about Shah’s remarks. “I have no idea. This hasn’t been discussed within the BCCI. I don’t know how it is possible,” he told The Telegraph.

heh!

Meanwhile. CMJ chimes in with his two cents.

Makarand Waingankar on coaching and the role of coaches. He should know, he got Paras Mhambrey over from Bengal to Baroda.

And finally, Manny.

An unmitigated disaster

and a golden opportunity.

The ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 is a text book example of a badly managed, badly run mega event.

And in that debacle lie lessons for the "Asian block" as they get together to host the next edition of the World Cup in 2011.

For starters, the logistical aspect of organizing a tournament of this scale. The 2011 tournament is spread across 4 nations and they will do well to recognize the problems faced by traveling fans from different nations.

The 4 nations, and in particular India, will do well to limit the games to a few select stadiums instead of making people traverse the length and breadth of individual countries and playing in remote outposts ( wouldn't categorize Pune as a remote outpost but seriously, is Nehru stadium seriously going to be a WC venue?).

I would volunteer to suggest 4 venues in India - Bangalore, Kolkata, Mohali and Mumbai. Limit the cricket to these 4 places ( all of the stadiums come equipped with flood lights and all four are metros).

The BCCI and the World Cup organizing committee in general, would do well to recognize the impact of matches conceded ( 1996 and 2003) and to include this in their scheduling.

The 2007 World Cup was too long - the ICC has promised to truncate the length of the tourney in 2011.

The 2007 World Cup excluded the very people whose joie de vivre it was set to celebrate - the Asian nations will do well to schedule the tournament in the right season and not go gung ho on the ticket prices ( Arent tickets already overpriced - 1500 rupees to sit on a stump of wood with two nails sticking in your butt along with 100 people crammed in space for 50 seems overpriced to me).

The BCCI would do well to start upgrading the in stadia facilities of these venues as a priority and follow that up by upgrading the remaining stadiums.

As regards the boring part - unless Australia implode spectacularly or the other teams grow by leaps and bounds over the next 4 years, expect more of the same.

The 2011 tournament gives the "Asian block" a picture perfect opportunity to showcase everything that is right about cricket and the passions of its fans.

It also gives India the unique opportunity to showcase its centrality as a cricketing powerhouse and to match its bluster with its organizing skills.

The onus is on us to make the restore the World Cup to the showcase event it is; to restore the flagging interest in the multitude of viewers and to put the "mega" back in the mega event.

"We may be the richest Board in the world and yet may have one of the less influential teams in the world, but by Jove, we know how to put on a show " should be the guiding light for the BCCI.

Trivialities like "no confidence motions" against all and sundry can wait.

Speaking of which - my initial reaction was "bit rich of the Board, whose own workings veer between bad and terrible , to pontificate on the ICC's workings".

Thing is, being imperfect is no impediment to being critical of the other. I only wish that the BCCI, while pontificating on the "excessive bureaucracy" of the ICC, had an alternate plan or blueprint in hand to address the situation.

It is all fine and dandy to criticize, but it would help if that criticism was accompanied by something constructive, instead of

Lalit Modi, the BCCI's vice-president, who called on Speed to be replaced by someone from Africa or Asia who "understands the problems of a majority of ICC members".

which is no plan at all.

(Cross posted on DesiCritics.org)

Shame on me..

Fool me once, shame on you.

Jan 09, 2007
The Cricket Board will conduct a workshop for curators of all the state associations and units affiliated to it in March this year.
.....
"The last workshop was conducted three years ago and that is the reason it has been decided to have one more workshop for the curators," Shetty added.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

Jan 20 2007
The Technical Committee, chaired by Sunil Gavaskar, also decided to take steps to prevent doctoring of wickets in the Ranji Trophy. From the next season, members of the Pitches Committee would monitor the
preparation of wickets for four days preceding the tie, said Shah

Fool me thrice, I am the village idiot

Sunday, April 29, 2007
Even as Rahul Dravid & Co will be busy negotiating the Bangladeshis for much of next month, the Indian cricket Board will be conducting a full-fledged summit of the pitches and grounds committee.
....
In fact, this is the first time that the Pawar-led BCCI administration has undertaken a full-fledged summit of the pitch committee members. The last time all the five zonal heads got together and met the BCCI top brass was way back in 2002-03, when the then Board chief Jagmohan Dalmiya convened the pitch committee’s summit in Kolkata.

And what it with BCCI officials and their mouths anyways? Verbal Diarrhoea?

Don't they realize that when they open their mouths, their collective credibility goes for a toss.

Done, dusted and

time to eat crow.

Maybe I should stop predicting , given my track record.

Or, maybe I should masquerade as a tarot card reader or astrologer.

Anyone at ESPN Star listening?

WTF

Here is what SL should do- keep harping on the bad light and make the game stretch into tomorrow. Make the ICC look like the asses they are.

This is absolutely ridiculous.

PS:- The Guardian OBO

Bad light stops play; one of the biggest farces you have ever seen ensues What a fittingly absurd end to the tournament: Australia are celebrating winning the World Cup, but Aleem Dar has gone over to tell them that, in fact, the game isn't over. What a farce. Even the scoreboard said 'Congratulations Australia'. Administrators were bringing on the gear for the presentation and Aleem Dar and Bucknor sent them back! Shambolic. And now we hear that the players might have to come back tomorrow for the final three overs! William Goldman was right; nobody knows anything. This is preposterous. What's going to happen now is that they are going to bowl the last three overs tonight, even though it is incredibly dark.

The Cricinfo Ball by Ball Commentary

6.17pm It's what is traditionally known as night. It is so dark but the umpires are now saying the match will continue. Heads should roll for this. The man is out putting the 30-yard circles back out. He needs a torch to do so. The batsmen are heading out to the middle accompanied by a guide dog. 6.15pmThis is a very unfunny joke, almost as if cricket was determined to show the world that it couldn't organise a whatsit in a brewery. The umpires are insisting the game is not over, everyone else thinks it is. Aleem Dar seems to be saying they can all come back tomorrow. Steve Bucknor's looking quite embarrassed in the background, letting Dar lead the process. Jayawardene is now on the pitch to talk to Bucknor and Bowden. 6.12pmAnd the farce continues! Now the stands for the ceremony have been brought on... and are off again, as the umpires shoo them away. My word. Here's a man who can tell you more, it's Martin. Now what's this? Aleem Dar is having a word with Australia, telling them they can't yet celebrate. Officially this match isn't over. You couldn't make it up. You don't have to. In fairness, this doesn't stop Australia celebrating. McGrath's all of a beam and there's a thumbs up and a smile for the tv cameras. The light's been offered and Sri Lanka have taken it - meaning Australia have won the World Cup again. They certainly deserve it and are huddling in celebration. A bit of a damp squib of an ending, which is of course fitting.

32.6

Clarke to Malinga, 2 runs, width outside off and that's worked out off the back foot to gully

and then this

The third umpire takes his time. Go on Rudi, no hurry ... and eventually he gives it out. Boos in the crowd are for the ridiculousness of the situation and not for the players
33.6	Symonds to Malinga, OUT, a big swing and a miss, Gilchrist whips off the bails, Dar calls for the third umpire as he could never have seen that far with any certainty
	SL Malinga st Gilchrist b Symonds 10 (6b 0x4 1x6) SR: 166.66
The post-match entertainers are waiting patiently. You have to feel for them

WICKET! Malinga st Gilchrist b Symonds 10 (Sri Lanka 209-8) Malinga misses a yahoo at Symonds and Gilchrist does the rest, although it took about 944 replays before the third umpire could give it.

This is a joke right?

The finals, that is.

First we get a truncated game, then the players are taken off when the rain is abating ( while playing on when it was pouring), then no one knows what the required score is, and now we are playing in the dark ( with the farcical scene of the umpires offering light).

Thank You ICC - you make the BCCI look like an efficient organization.

Congratulations Australia, although a lot of the sheen will be taken off your win because of the joke that is the ICC.

Its official..

The ICC is conducting a farce

23rd over: Sri Lanka 145-3 (chasing 282 from 38 overs) That was the end of the over. The rain is coming and the D/L par is 168. Australia are closing in on victory.

24th over: Sri Lanka 148-3 (chasing 282 from 38 overs) Here comes McGrath, and the rain is getting much heavier. Silva, trying to play himself in with rain falling and in poor light, is beaten twice by McGrath before driving a single to get off the mark.

24.5 overs: Sri Lanka 149-3 (Jayawardene 17, Silva 1; chasing 282 from 38 overs) It's Tait for Clarke, and it's now absolutely honking it down. But they are going to play on for now, and Australia will be happy with just one coming from the first five balls of that Tait over. It's all over bar some serious clouting. The D/L score par is 784,031.

Rain stops play That is probably that: Australia are ahead on Duckworth/Lewis and it seems unlikely that the players will come back on, although there is a tantalisingly hint of blue sky to the right. It's a sad but fitting way for the tournament to end, if indeed this is the end. I hope it's the end. Can it be the end? Please let it end.

To clarify if there is no more play today, Australia win the World Cup, even though there is actually the provision for a reserve day tomorrow.

The covers are coming off Sri Lanka will have a revised target if they get back on, but they already need over 10 an over. They need power-hitters but all they have are a load of wristy strokeplayers.

25th over: Sri Lanka 150-3 (chasing some random, secret, if-I-tell-ya-I'll-have-to-kill-ya target invented by two English mathematicians armed with some dice, a pencil, a bottle of Um Bongo and a vivid imagination) Tait finishes his over, and there's no news on whether the target has been revised. That sums up this whole effing tournament: the game is going on and the consumers don't even know what the rules of engagement are. Nor do the players. Not unreasonably, Jayawardene wants to know WHAT BLOODY TOTAL HIS SIDE SHOULD BE CHASING, so there's a delay in play while the umpires decide what on earth is going on. It is said that tournaments get the final they deserve, and this absolutely fiasco is entirely fitting. Apparently Sri Lanka need 269 from an unspecified number of overs. And according to the scoreboard, the D/L par score is 0! You couldn't make this nonsense up!

Overplaying his hand?

Michael Clarke into bowl. Wonder what the logic behind that move is?

Master stroke

The move to get Michael Clarke on to bowl.

In terms of a carrot, none was bigger than a part time slow bowler.

Given that Sri Lanka are behind in the D/L and the required run rate is 8.8, odds are that the Lankans would go hard at him.

Also, with the rain clouds in the horizon,the Lankans had their hands forced - to go hard and take risks against the left arm spinner.

Miss the opportunity and rue it for the next four years, take it and it still doesn't make a substantial dent on the runs required.

And now the bonus - Jayasuriya loses his rag and is bowled.

I would venture that Ponting will get his faster bowlers on now. Pace bowlers take a longer time to get through their overs and with impending rain and the D/L stacked against the Lankans, the pressure is all on them.

And now Tait.

And the Aussies slowing down the game :).. Nice

PS:- This is the "X" factor good captains bring to the game. There are captains who will go with the flow and there are others that are on the lookout for an opportunity, any opportunity and exploit it to the max.

Good job Ricky.

A 10 minute break

Chasing 282 in 38 overs, Sri Lanka gets a measly 10 minutes between innings.

I think this should actually help the Lankans - not too much time to mull over proceedings; just go out there and do it.

On the flip side, being pummeled the way they were, will the Lankans carry the baggage over the 10 minute break in to their batting?

Time will tell.