The Day After..

Plenty happening in the world of cricket and cricket administration the day after the stunning match between India and England -

BCCI Appeals Against Court Stay For Dalmiya

BCCI faces monopoly investigation

Dungarpur denies misappropriating clubs funds

Asif injured in dressing room spat

I haven't thought of retirement - Tendulkar

I still respect the Board: Kapil

Now Wadekar gets ICL call

Truth has prevailed: Imtiaz

Contracts to prevent cricketer crossover to ICL

From left field, this article by Mike Selvey - A modest proposal: Flintoff should quit Tests for one-dayers

and finally, this gem.

Sixth ODI - India versus England, The Brit Oval

India win by two wickets and a ball to spare - England 316/6 India 317/8

Following the loss at Old Trafford, in course of a conversation with Sfx, I opined that it will be a huge test of character for India to bounce back after that loss.

The loss was huge as it set India back a long way in the 7 match series. It was also heartbreaking given that India had given it all and had still ended on the losing side. The manner of the loss was demoralizing in that India could not finish the game from being in a position where they could not lose.

In terms of holes, I had serious doubts if India could climb out of this one.

Then Headingley happened. Content in the knowledge that the series would be lost there, I was off, gallivanting around around the country.

I heard of the Headingley result first. Then I read about the game. Finally, I saw it. But that did nothing to convince me that India had turned a corner.

Until today, that is.

Set a humongous 317 to get by England, India kept its wickets and its nerve to take the series to the decider at Lords. And some effort it was too.

Barring a couple of overs when Gambhir could not get the ball of the square and Tendulkar was cramping up and later when Dhoni was all edges and no middle, India kept the momentum going.

India began the match well, faltered in the middle but did enough to ensure that the result went their way.

Questions though, remain. Of the middle and late over bowling, of the fielding and the captaincy. Yuvraj, Sachin, Yuvraj for the 48th, 49th and 50th overs ? This, when Ramesh Powar was yet to bowl his quota of overs. As was Agarkar. Where was the logic in that?

India showed character, the downside to which is that it took a rocket up their backside in the form of a prospective series defeat by England before they have started to show the kind of cricket they are capable of.

And are Ian Gould, Nigel Llong and Peter Hartley the best that the ECB can conjure for an International ODI series? Gould's decisions or lack of cost India Old Trafford. Peter Hartley's charity allowed Owais Shah to get to his maiden hundred. And Hartley nearly fluffed again when he nearly did not call for the third umpire in the Paul Collingwood run out incident.

Gripping series this may be, but shouldn't that be because of the contest between bat and ball?

And what about Paul Collingwood? I would love to see what the Match Referee has to say about his open show of dissent following his run out.

James Anderson got away with a shoulder barge at Headingley, maybe Mr Fat Arse will too.Which will be a travesty.

Second String?

Yesterday, Mr Gul Hameed Bhatti had this to say about the Mumbai team visiting Pakistan for the Nissar trophy -

Mumbai sending second-string side for Nissar Trophy

Today, CricInfo faithfully reproduces the article as its own

Mumbai send second-string team for Nissar Trophy

Fourth ODI - India versus England, Old Trafford

England's B's sting India and how! - India 212 England 213/7.

Phenomenal effort by Bopara and Broad to see England through after they were tottering at 114/7 at one stage. Great composure, great match sense, a wonderfully paced innings by the B's reminiscent of India's performance at Lords in 2002.

Which stands in stark contrast to India's efforts.

India needs to urgently address our approach to the shorter version of the game.

We lose wickets and decide to down the shutters. We don't lose wickets and choose defense to be the best form of attack.

A half decent partnership comes about and our body language goes to the dogs. We knock a few wickets quickly and think the job is done.

We choose 7 bats because we don't trust 6 to do the job.

We choose 5 bowlers because we believe 4 cannot deliver.

We exude great energy and confidence at the start of the game but are flat by the time the 50th over rolls by.

Individuals lose focus of the match situation, the team loses sight of the ebbs and flows of the game.

Bottomline - We are not hungry enough.

And now, all of that has been brought front and center by two kids who did everything right under tremendous pressure.

Kudos Bopara and Broad - you wanted it more and you deserve it.

PS:-

Here is the silver lining though - we lose at Headingley and suddenly the pressure is off - both to win the series and to play known quantities.

Which means that we should expect Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa get atleast 2 ODIs to display their wares.

A question of balance

Ajit Agarkar has played 188 ODIs for India. Here is a guy who was a batting regular for Sharadashram before switching to become a full time bowler. He has a 100 at Lords. And yet, he cannot be trusted enough to become a full time batsman for India.

Yuvraj Singh has played 179 ODIs for India. He has 49 wickets with an economy rate of 4.99. And yet, he cannot be trusted to bowl 10 overs for India every game.

India plays 7 batsmen and that leaves their bowling line thin. They play 5 bowlers and are effectively playing one batsman short.

So my question is - are we better off playing specialist batsmen and bowlers or is India a better balanced team playing only bits and pieces cricketers?

Does playing 8 bits and pieces players, 2 specialist bowlers and a keeper give India better balance than playing 6 specialist batsmen and 5 specialist bowlers or 7 specialist batsmen and 4 specialist bowlers?

Please please please BCCI

let him continue writing even if he breaks into the India team.

No gag orders please!

On Fielding

(comments made by me on Prem Panicker's blog during the Third ODI versus England)

Let us take it as an article of faith that India’s ground fielding is going to remain solid and never move into the realms of the spectacular.

Forget the usual suspects like Ganguly and Munaf, people like Uthappa and Gambhir also cannot be expected to be anything more than solid.

And if that is the case, maybe we need to recalibrate our expectations on what this Indian team can and cannot do.

---

And why blame these guys alone - ever watched kids play in the maidans?

Isn't that when there is purity as far as the game is concerned with the kids playing the game for the joy of playing - ever noticed how many kids sign up to field?

And ever noticed how the fielding slacks off significantly after the first couple of overs or if the opposing batsmen start a run barrage?

And if that is the case, how can one expect attitudes, hardened over the course of the better part of a young life, change dramatically on wearing the India colors- especially when the India colors were earned on the back of batting and bowling and not fielding performances ?

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The contrast with the Poms is sharp, especially in the ODI arena, but India’s ground fielding was never top drawer even during the WC 2003 campaign.

Now, as an aside, I was reading in the Times or the Telegraph that the lights in Bristol were not even club standard and that may have affected the Indians sighting the ball.

--

The high point of India’s fielding was when we took the field with Kaif, Yuvi, Raina, Sehwag, SRT, Pathan andAgarkar - agile bodies ( the first three) and strong arms ( the latter 4). But even then, there were 3 fielders who had to be hidden in the field

===

Take Manoj Tiwary for instance - kid threw himself after the ball and hurt himself during practice. And that dive has cost him an India cap for the near future. And then he had to endure BCCI shenanigans - over which doctor he could consult with and who would pick up the medical bills.

So not only was his income being impacted because of him not playing, he was in a position where he would have had to foot his own medical bills!

And with sports medicine not as evolved in India, the medical tab is significant.

And so the question becomes, why would anyone exert themselves on the field when 1) there is no guarantee of income during the rehabilitation phase and 2) there is no guarantee of re compensation for medical bills incurred.

Also, what coaching is given with regards to fielding and throwing techniques during the formative years of a cricketers life? Whatever sliding and diving that kids do today is because of what they watch on television, not because there is a program in place that teaches kids the right techniques in fielding.

Forget sliding and diving - what about fundamental throwing? Why is it that Rahul Dravid has to harp on about "weak" arms in the field?

The unfortunate thing is that if these trends continue, with the world leaving India by the wayside in Twenty 20 and ODI cricket, India's ODI cricket is likely to go the way of India's Hockey.

Maybe then the BCCI will wake up and smell the coffee.

Third ODI - India versus England, Edgbaston

Plenty to think about for India after a crushing loss. England 281/8 India 239 all out.

First, the toss. And the choice to bowl first with one batsman short.

Two, the bowling composition. If Munaf Patel bowls 5 overs to Yuvraj's 7, Piyush Chawla bowls only 9 of his 10 overs, Sachin Tendulkar does not turn his arm over, there is something wrong here.
Munaf Patel was expensive, the slower bowlers were doing a good job, so much so that the part time bowler was given an extended run. So what about the front line spinner and his non completion of overs? And what about the other part timer with his all sorts?

Three, the lack of cricketing nous. When Ramesh Powar spends an inordinate amount of time and balls when the need of the hour is to get Yuvraj on strike as much as possible, when Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh get into a tangle running between the wickets, when the Poms run two after hitting the ball straight to a fielder - there is someone fundamentally wrong with the Indian approach and mindset.

India will need to step up and step up quickly else this series will be over by the time we reach Headingley.

And as I type this, Mike Artherton takes special delight in rubbing it in during the course of his interview with Ian Bell.. Well!

Second ODI - India versus England, Bristol

India take the long route to victory. India 329/7 England 320/8

With the English scorecard reading 239/7, India decided that it was time for a siesta. How else can one explain England clawing back from 239 to 320/8 at the end of the game?

Agreed that the Pom lower order was expected to throw their bats around, but this is ridiculous.

Then again, 2 Indian batsmen were Goulded. And we dropped 4 catches early on. And England were on a tear, reaching 75/0 in 10 overs.

And yet we won.

India did the hard yards and while Mascarenhas and Broad added some artificial excitement to the game by tonking the ball around, India held its nerve when it mattered.

The batsmen came to the party, the bowlers were steady, the fielding was all over the place and Ajit Agarkar was on a one man mission to ensure an English win. But when the crunch came, India's nerve held. And England cracked.

All of which points to a good, hard fought series over the remaining 5 matches.

Bloody ridiculous

Just what were the Mumbai selectors smoking when the decided to drop Nilesh Kulkarni from the Mumbai squad scheduled to take on Karachi?

Per Cricinfo,

He has not even signed up with the Indian Cricket League (ICL), but Nilesh Kulkarni is already feeling the strain. Mumbai's selectors named their team to take on Karachi in a four-day match for the Nissar Trophy on Saturday and Kulkarni figured in the squad. With speculation rife that he was set to join the ICL Mumbai Cricket Association officials got in touch with Kulkarni to check what the exact situation was.

When they learned that Kulkarni, who is currently playing league cricket in England, had indeed been offered a contract by ICL, and was dilly-dallying over whether to sign or not, and reportedly asked for a few days time before he made up his mind, Mumbai's selectors made theirs up. They dropped Kulkarni for the Nissar Trophy match, replacing him with Mundeep Mungela, the medium-pacer.

"We wanted to send a strong message to Nilesh," a senior MCA official close to the selection committee, comprising Dilip Vengsarkar, Abey Kuruvilla, Milind Rege and Kiran Mokashi, told Cricinfo. "He wanted a few days' time but we decided to take our own decision."

Huh?

Nilesh Kulkarni has soldiered on for Mumbai with distinction for over 13 seasons now. He also has the distinction of captaining Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. And this is not the first time that Nilesh Kulkarni has been treated shabbily either.

So what message are the selectors trying to send exactly?

Are Mumbai captains, past and present, to be treated like dirt once their perceived utility is over?

Or are they to be tossed around to placate the real or imagined embarrassments of Sharad Pawar MP ( Baramati, Pune District)?

If this is the message sent, are Dilip Vengsarkar and Milind Rege, ex captains both, listening?

And do the Mumbai selectors honestly think that Iqbal Abdulla is ready to don the mantle of lead spinner?

First ODI - India versus England, The Rose Bowl.

England comprehensive winners in the end - 288/2 to India's 184 all out.

We were outplayed. England was the hungrier team, their batting was exceptional and their bowling more honest.

And India was not even in the contest once we lost the early wicket of Saurav Ganguly.

34/4 is too deep a hole to come out of, though India tried gamely.

But the thing that most impressed was Paul Collingwood's captaincy - Brilliant vision, very hands on, wonderful field settings. There was not a thing that he did wrong today.

And that does not mean Rahul Dravid was bad. There was not much he or India could have done on a day when England was on fire.

So more power to the Poms for their effort.The thing to note at the end of this game is - can England sustain this kind of inspired performance over 7 ODIs?

Outrage.

In the aftermath of the Sreesanth beamer to Kevin Pieterson, English newspapers and sports columnists were besides themselves with rage over the incident.

Beamers must be punished with ban - By Mike Atherton, Sunday Telegraph

Beamer-bowling Sreesanth handed fine for barging - By Jon Culley at Trent Bridge

A deliberate beamer is just throwing a punch by proxy - Mike Selvey

Pietersen shaken by beamer

It was, therefore, with some interest that I perused the English newspapers following the incident (listed below) during the Friends Provident Trophy finals between Durham and Hampshire

48.3	Tremlett to Gibson, SIX, short, straight and crashed into the crowd behind midwicket - what a shot
48.4	Tremlett to Gibson, FOUR, now he goes through the off-side - such power, great cover drive, down on one knee
48.5	Tremlett to Gibson, 2 no balls, no-ball immediately signalled as a Sreesanth-like beamer has Gibson ducking and falling back
48.5	Tremlett to Gibson, 2 runs, that's big again, but in height rather than distance - Gibson launching a top edge that nearly makes the rope and plugs in the ground near Pietersen
48.6	Tremlett to Gibson, 1 run, cuts into the ground

Of the contentious moments, none was quite as unappetising as the beamer Chris Tremlett bowled at Gibson. No doubt it was accidental, but since Gibson had hit the previous two balls for six and four, suspicion could not be immediately allayed. - Stephan Brinkley in the Independent

Ottis Gibson warmed up for his opening burst by ducking a beamer from Chris Tremlett then smacking the ball as Barbadians used to do - Scyld Berry in the Sunday Telegraph

This included a horrible beamer at Gibson after Tremlett had been struck for a massive six from the previous delivery. We assumed this to be accidental rather more swiftly than when Sreesanth delivered his beamer during the Trent Bridge Test. - Vic Marks in the Guardian

For Hampshire, Pietersen was out for 12 to continue to modest record in one-dayers at Lord’s, while Chris Tremlett bowled nine overs for 60, in the last of which he served Gibson with that darkest of deliveries, a beamer, straight after being hit for six and four. - Simon Wilde in the Times

GIBSON RELIEVED TO MISS BEAMER

Umpire referral rules confuse Phil Mustard - By Michael Atherton, Sunday Telegraph
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And just so you know, Chris Tremlett is a member of the England One Day squad for the first 4 matches against India.

Mumbai play Karachi

from the 8th through the 11th of September

The Mumbai Team - : Wasim Jaffer (capt), Vinayak Mane, Sahil Kukreja, Hiken Shah, Vinit Indulkar, Abhishek Nair, Omkar Gurav (wk), Avishkar Salvi, Rajesh Verma, Iqbal Abdulla, Vikrant Yelligatti, Prashant Naik, Ajinkya Rahane and Nilesh Kulkarni.

And on a tangential note, given the number of players being pulled from the domestic setup by the ICL, how competitive will the Ranji Trophy be this year?

And now, guard against complacency!

India play England in 7 ODIs following their series victory in the Tests. And I do not expect England to push India too hard - 7 ODIs are 7 ODIs too many for the English palate.

There may be the odd game when England will come hard at India, but I believe we have enough nous to overcome that.

The problem that I foresee is in the period following the ODI series.

India has had a tendency to go off the boil after a big series ( Test or ODI), especially when they have performed well.

This, coupled with the tendency of being slow off the blocks, does not augur well for us.

India plays the 20/20 World Cup in South Africa and despite 20/20 being a slog fest and India playing a relatively young team ( both in age and experience), the words "World" and "Cup" will ensure a media frenzy.

Heightened expectations, coupled with a touch of complacency and the inability to hit the ground running implies that I do not see India doing too well in the 20/20 World Cup.

And just as well ( what with Test Cricket being the real cricket and all that).

Given that, it will behoove us ( fans and players) to temper our reactions a touch and keep in mind the bigger challenges ahead - Pakistan and Australia beckon.

Test 3 Day 5 - India take the series 1-0

India win the inaugural Pataudi Trophy. Just like they won the inaugural Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

By the identical series scoreline.

Onto the ODIs then.