And at Hove...

India are 166/8, an overall lead of 254 runs with 45 overs left in the game.

My thought - declare now..Sussex had us on the ropes right after lunch when we lost two wickets in two balls and slumped to 120/8.

Right now we have taken away the momentum from Sussex, we are in a position where we cannot lose the game and having the tailenders slog away does not benefit us in any which way.

Instead, let the bowlers have a go.. Let Ranadeb get a few more overs under his belt. Ditto RP Singh.

Lets test our fielding and catching.

And most important of all, let us give ourselves a chance to win.

Meanwhile,in Durham....

If they are to beat Durham today, Surrey first have to contend with a fast bowler who has discovered a pitch with sufficient bounce to account for accomplished batsmen and whose rhythm and, no doubt, reputation, was such that tailenders backed away when facing him. Stephen Harmison took five wickets in all yesterday, his three in the second innings reducing Surrey to 46 for three, with another searching examination in store for this morning.
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Surrey were scratching around for victory and hoping Steve Harmison would not have the last word when bad light ended play an hour early at the Oval yesterday.
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Surrey begin today needing 107 runs with seven wickets remaining to see off Durham, who were indebted to a spell from Steve Harmison which saw the quick bowler take three for 15 off seven overs as the home side limped to 46 for three when bad light curtailed play on day two of their First Division match.
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That was yesterday.

This morning, starting from 46/3, Surrey managed to knock off the remaining runs (107), losing just the one wicket.

And they scored at a rate of 4.21 runs/over.

Steve Harmison - 14-5-51-4

The India A Squad for Zimbabwe and Kenya

Mohammad Kaif, Parthiv Patel, Robin Uthappa, Cheteshwar Pujara, S Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Rajesh Pawar, Mahesh Rawat (wicketkeeper), Piyush Chawla, Arjun Yadav, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan Pathan, V R V Singh, Yo Mahesh, Pankaj Singh, Niraj Patel

I beg to differ

Here is the comment I posted on the Indian Express website in response to Harsha Bhogle's column - None to witness a sunset in Indian cricket history

To the best of my knowledge, a vast majority of the Mumbai players are in England playing Club/League cricket.
That is, if they are not donning the national colors.
You will be privy to more information in this regard that I.
I personally think its a cheap shot, calling out the Mumbai cricketers and accusing them of a lack of respect.
If respect is what you seek, it will be instructive to peruse through the list of Mumbai cricketers who donned India colors on the Mumbai Cricket website. And list down the names that are not there .
If you are looking for respect, look no further than the MCA. Who have yet to publicly facilitate thier players for engineering what is possibly the greatest turn around in the history of Indian domestic cricket.
And if it is respect you seek, please peruse through all the obits on Dilip Sardesai and list down those that eugolize his contribution in Mumbai winning an unprecedented 15 Ranji titles on the trot.
When, at an institutional level ( and I am not even thinking of the BCCI and their shenanigans with stopping Player pensions) there is no respect for the game or its players, why expect kids who have just broken into the game to show a sense of history?
When learned hacks think nothing of bypassing Dilip Sardesai's contributions to Mumbai's cricketing legacy, instead couching their obits around the West Indies tour of 71, why expect kids to know any different?
Why fob off our responsibilities on a generation whose ignorance we have lauded ( Virender Sehwag not knowing Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankad's record) when we have all along encouraged this behavior?

Cheers

The Coaching special

The District Sports Association (DSA) Silchar has kickstarted the first-ever summer coaching camp for various age group probables by any sports association in the state under the tutelage of the Assam Cricket Academy.
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The new Indian coaching manual, for players and coaches, is almost ready and will be circulated - as a book and in a CD — in the next three months. It is a culmination of eight months of hard work and research, from careful examination of reports and analyses of feedback from four men — Lalchand Rajput, Bharat Arun, Arshad Ayub, Dinesh Nanavati and Rajesh Kamat.
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This is the only platform where gender bias in cricket—stuffed on power and technique —comes to nought. And appearing for the National Cricket Academy (NCA) Level II coaches workshop-cum-examination, Ragini Malhotra and Priyanka Sisodia agree to that. Both cleared the Level I course a year and-a-half ago — the only two in the entire North Zone — and if they clear this exam too, they will be among the most qualified women cricket coaches.
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“There are certain subtle, but crucial changes in technique, like stance, grip, positioning, etc, that the batsman in Twenty20 cricket has to go through. To be able to score at run-a-ball, and not allow bowlers to bowl dot balls, technique is foremost. Power is necessary to hit the ball hard to the boundary,” Ghosh said.

Engerland..

“Our Belfast experience will help because you won’t get conditions worse than that. It was absolutely freezing and the conditions were tough. I’ve never encountereed anything like this in my entire career. This is something we are not used to, and experiencing that just before the series against England is wonderful,” remarked Sachin Tendulkar who completed his 15,000 one-day runs in the Future Cup series.

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Well, India haven’t won a Test at Lord’s since 1986. I hope this time around they break the jinx, for they have the potential to beat this England side. Yes, I will be there in the Lord’s balcony cheering Rahul and boys.

The Colonel speaks
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“Playing in England is special,” he said. “I firmly believe we can win the series this time around.”

Very Very Special speaks
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More than anything else, the team seems happier than it has in the recent months — victories such as the ones in Belfast do much for the team. There is little that seems wrong with a team that wins, problems manifest themselves only when it is losing.

What was most pleasing about the wins in Ireland was the fact that the team looked a carefree, cheerful bunch despite the flu — the players walked about unmolested by fans or hacks, took open-bus tours of the city and then proceeded to whip the Proteas.

Rohit Mahajan

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And before we start looking at them as the aperitif for the summer's main course, it is worth pointing out that last year India limped to a 1-0 victory in a four-Test series in the Caribbean thanks only to the batting of Rahul Dravid in a low-scoring game in Kingston.

Andy Bull

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Fiesty cricket or not, bring on the Poms!

Today...

The year, 1971, was the year Indian cricket learnt to walk, became adult, made its bones, call it what you like, and Sardesai did more than anyone to make that possible. And he did it without a helmet.

Mukul Kesavan on Dilip Sardesai.

The cause and effect of Mugabe's obduracy has manifested itself in the killing, maiming and torture that is now tragically Zimbabwe's trademark and its President's stock in trade.

Mike Rook on Zimbabwe.

Watching a player struggle to take that last, final step from aspirant to champion, being so desperately close yet not quite there, unsure sometimes what precisely it is that is holding them back from greatness, is compelling.

Rohit Brijnath.

On whether Anil Kumble's retirement from ODIs made his comeback easier

No... Whether he’d retired or not, I could only have come back after good performances in domestic cricket and at other levels... That’s what happened.

Piyush Chawla

However, former India spinner and current national selector Venkatpathy Raju justified calling back Chawla from Scotland. “Unfortunately, we don’t have too many side games nowadays.

There are leagues happening in Southern India and it would help Chawla more if he plays in them rather than just sitting around the dressing room. Also we have India ‘A’ tours coming up,” Raju reasoned.

Avinash Iyer

Today..

For everything else that is wrong with Shoaib Akhtar, the guy has his heart in the right place when it comes to batsmen

You don’t like batsmen...

I don’t... When I come charging in, the one thought is to **** them... I like being aggressive and don’t like batsmen who keep improving their average by batting against mediocre attacks on flat wickets... It’s a pity that there are so few genuinely quick bowlers... Batting has definitely become easy and ridiculous rules such as a free hit (in ODIs) after a foot-fault no ball are absurd... For God’s sake, don’t discourage fast bowlers.

Suresh Raina is on the mend

“I know it will be a tough fight, but it is good for me. I will be motivated to perform, and if I able to do so I know I will make my way back to the Indian team,” he says. As an afterthought he adds, “I know Kaif bhai and Veeru bhai are also are eager to make a comeback, the competition is getting tougher.”

So too is Manoj Tiwary

“Till this point, all that he has been doing is going through regular, light rounds of shadow practice, without kits and bat,” Tiwary’s coach said, adding: “But by next week, I hope he will have recovered properly enough to get back into full swing at the nets. The final call of course depends on Dr Wallace, with whom Manoj is constantly in touch.”

As is Irfan Pathan

It did cross my mind and I did make an extra effort to maintain a level head, to tell myself that this is reality and this is not, to know that this all looks good but will not last. Still, I did make mistakes… you take things for granted. You go along with the flow, think you're doing right but it might not be.

And here is Yuvraj Singh

The first three wickets had fallen quite early and it was important to hold the innings together… The ball had been seaming… Rahul and I had a good partnership and, then, (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni came to the wicket… His presence makes me comfortable as he can strike the ball hard and runs fast…

It is hard not to get enthused by the maturity shown by these kids. And for that reason alone, I feel good about India's cricketing future ( inspite of the BCCI).

RIP Dilip Narayan Sardesai

Dilip Sardesai, who passed away yesterday did not know what it was like to surrender the Ranji Trophy in his playing days. City cricket is left poorer.
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Former Test cricketer Dilip Sardesai, who was considered India’s best batsman against spin bowling, died of multiple-organ failure here on Monday.
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It could be a club game, Ranji Trophy or Test; Dilip never ever gave his wicket easily.

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“On the field, he was a class act—and a man extremely particular about technique,” Bedi continued while recalling the most momentous of their five tours together. “Also, he was part of Mumbai—a very successful domestic side in Ranji Trophy,” he said.

“A very warm human being, his company was highly enjoyable. He was, if I may say, the most hospitable of Mumbai’s cricketers when we visited Bombay. A man with a great business acumen, as sharp as his cricketing brain,” Bedi added. “Despite his weakening health, he was a regular at CCI and his mind ticked constantly when watching newer talent. He fought life the way he fought in cricket,” Bedi said.

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Sardesai fit in easily, especially after taking his cricket to Bombay where he absorbed the culture of batsmanship that laid great store by correctness and the ability to grind out the long innings. His first century, after India were asked to follow-on, occupied him for 548 minutes and raised visions of Vijay Manjrekar at his best. His second, in the next Test, was for a long time the fastest made by an Indian.

--
and thanks for the memories.

Losing the plot

4.1 Zaheer to de Villiers, no run, good length delivery angling away from
the right hander, de Villiers goes on the backfoot and looks to flick it away,
closes the face of the bat very early, gets a leading edge and Sachin Tendulkar
takes a stunning catch at 1st slip, they are celebrating but Aleem dar says not
out!!! This has to be the poorest decision by an umpire I have ever seen... That
was a regulation nick!!!

4.2 Zaheer to de Villiers, no run, short of length delivery on the stumps,
de Villiers goes on the backfoot and pulls it away, in the air and straight to
the fielder at short mid wicket, he is DROPPED Gambhir has put him down

At this stage, the batsman is unsure of what to expect next. The reprieve may have given him a new lease of life , but I am not sure he is convinced of either his technique or batsmanship. So what does India do next?

4.3 Zaheer to de Villiers, FOUR!!, short of length delivery on the off, de
Villiers goes on the backfoot and pulls it away to deep mid wicket, that is
insult to injury!!!

When you have the batsman where you want him, unsure of himself, why is it that time and time again, we give him a get out of jail card with compliments?

Wrong call

9-0-36-3 of which 5 overs were bowled at the death.

49 runs in 63 balls that won the match for the team after a middle innings wobble. And this 49 included a phase when making contact with the ball was a challenge.

Yet he hung tough, both with bat and ball.

And if this is not good enough to win Yuvraj Singh the Man of the Match, I do not know what the criteria for the award are.

Now, why this?

37.6 Hall to Yuvraj, no run, short of length delivery outside the off stump, angling away from the left hander, Yuvraj goes on the backfoot and looks to pull it away, mistimes it straight to the fielder at mid on, does not really get hold of that one on that occasion, he is getting frustrated here.

The ask is below 5 runs an over.

There are 12 more overs to go after this.

The guy at the other end is a decent bat.

The guy at the other end is a pretty good runner between the wickets.

You are not too bad between the wickets yourself.

And you are a pretty decent wielder of the willow yourself.

This is the phase when the opposition will lift itself. See through this period and score at a decent clip and the opposition will wilt. Because of their increased efforts and lack of reward.

So, why the frustration?

Why is it

that we don't understand momentum?

Yuvraj Singh warms the benches when he should be out in the middle after a fine bowling spell.

We lose 4 wickets in a flash when we have the opposition at our mercy. And not because the opposition raised their game or bowled out of their skins..

Every dismissal was soft.

Why is it that we hand over the momentum to the opposition, time and time again, when the game is ours to lose?

I respectfully disagree

with the move to hold back Yuvraj Singh and send in Rahul Dravid instead. For two reasons.

1. Yuvraj is a left hander and it makes sense to keep the right hand left hand combination going, especially as the ball is 29 overs old and holds no terrors.

2. Yuvraj needs time in the middle.Coming as he is from a pretty decent bowling spell, it would make sense for him to take that confidence to the batting crease. And then there is the 134 run cushion to fall back on.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

17.6	Nel to Tendulkar, 5 runs, 50! Tendulkar drives a good length delivery into the covers, sprints down the other end, the throw is awful and goes for four overthrows, and THAT, everyone, is 15,000 ODI runs for the man...take a bow
17.5	Nel to Tendulkar, no run, follows up with a slower one, on a good length, and its crunched to cover
That was his 160th six
17.4	Nel to Tendulkar, SIX, awesome! Nel drops short outside off stump, and has to watch the ball sail over deep backward square leg for maximum! A powerful pull shot for six

Over the hill? Past it? Slow?