Peter Siddle - Hat-Trick

Relive the magic - Peter Siddle's Hat-Trick on his Birthday (25/11/2010)

1st Ashes Test - Australia vs. England, 'Gabba, Brisbane.

1st Ball - Alastair Cook

2nd Ball - Matt Prior

3rd Ball - Stuart Broad

The Victorian's hat-trick - only the fourth by an Australian in 133 years of England-Australia Tests - lit up the Gabba.!!

Enjoy the moment.!!

Comedy of Errors

Three Errors:

1. Brad Haddin - Arguably the worst offender. Poor throw. Should have picked Watson easily.

2. Michael Clarke - Had all the time in the world to dislodge the bail walking to the stumps. (though the attempt was on target)

3. Shane Watson - Can't do much there. Might have just walked away once the ball was over his head. Took a delayed decision to back away.

Who was at fault.?

Spectacular

Watch the man hitting bulls eye every time.! Awesome.!

A Young Star from UP

Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman played out the first session on Day 5 of the third test against Sri Lanka. Considering the needs of the team, it was just the ideal way to do about the run-chase. Just when it looked like they were on course to take India to victory Tendulkar departed with India still requiring 80-odd runs to win. In came Suresh Raina and played an innings which was like saying to VVS, "Hello Mate, what on earth was happening when you two played?"

Such was the range of shots Raina played in that innings. He hardly looked in trouble though he was a bit rash early on. But after that it was a pleasure to watch Suresh bat. Having said that, it was the Mumbaikar and Very Very Special who made things easy for him. They deserve as much praise, if not more, as Suresh Raina deserves.

Raina is a perfect man to bat at No.6 in TESTS. He is ideal, one because he is left handed. All teams like to have left handers in the middle to change the line of the bowlers and so he has an advantage. And two, most importantly, he is aggressive and can easily settle into the role of someone who can bat with the tail.

Many times the No.6 and No.7 batsmen fall into no man's land when it comes to batting with tail-enders. And if they happen to be defensive batsmen then they will find it really difficult. Fortunately if Raina seals his place in the starting XI, which I think he should, then India will have two of the best aggressive players at No.6 and No.7. The man following at No.7 is easily India's best ODI batsman, MS Dhoni, and I consider him to be the world's best and also that's what the ICC Rankings say.

Suresh Raina reminds me of India's best Test and ODI left hander and Former Captain Sourav Ganguly. Though he has a long way to go in reaching Sourav's class, the beginning has just been terrific. Both scored their maiden test century on DEBUT and both played their first test after making their ODI debut a long time before TEST debuts. Both bat in the middle order. So Raina will have just the perfect inspiration to play well.

The man whom Wisden rated as "India's talented player" after Sachin Tendulkar has began his test career promisingly and if he manages to cement his place, India will not find it difficult when their three stalwarts retire. Transition should be smooth and Raina will be a big factor in making it happen.

For now, let's enjoy the class of India's latest "Centurion-on-debut" who is also the best Fielder by far in this Indian team. Go Suresh Raina.!

Collingwood Catch

How about that for a catch.? Collingwood to me is the world's best fielder now.!

Murali - A Champion spin bowler

This is my tribute to the holder of many records and a truely awesome cricketer, Mutthiah Muralitharan!



One of the most illustrated careers in Test Cricket ended at Galle. A true gentleman, Mutthiah Muralitharan has been the flag-bearer of SL Cricket! I've never seen Murali talk to the batsmen, abuse or even a banter! Sledging is not in his dictionary! He focusses on where to land the ball!

To get 800 wickets in Test Cricket, you need a lot of determination. Murali did possess it. When he was called "Chucker" he had it, when he was continuously no-balled he had it.

"Smiling Assassin" as they call him, Muralitharan has been a marvelous sports personality! So sad that the test cricket lost him! He played passionately for every team he played. Sri Lanka, Kent, Lancashire or Chennai Super Kings! He is a true champion bloke!

Heard team-mates of Murali's various teams say he is the most energising cricketer in the dressing room. Always funny and helping people! Remember Nasser Hussain said in an interview: "Muralitharan could turn the ball on GLASS"! Really true! His 'Doosra' turns as big as a leg spinner!

Not many know the other side of Muralitharan i.e outside Cricket. His foundation has built 2,000 houses for those who lost home in the Tsunami attacks. What a noble character and how many such characters in Cricket have acted like that?

Happy that he'll continue playing T20 Cricket, we could associate Murali with Cricket a little longer. Hope he will be there in the 2011 World Cup and if he helps SriLanka to the title, that will be icing on the cake!

Let the Murali Magic continue wherever he is.!

Mutthiah Muralitharan

Here are the images of the CHAMPION Off Spinner playing in his last test match.

Taking Indian Cricket Forward - Part 5

‘A’ Tours

Jaidev Unadkat, 18 years old, made his first class debut last week against WI ‘A’. He represents India ‘A’ after he was picked to tour England. And he made rapid strides there, picking up 13 wickets! Not a bad return for a debutant! What does this show? Unadkat would not have dreamt in his wildest dreams that he will play his first-class debut in England. What a start! He can now go from strength to strength and hopefully develop into a good fast bowler.

All this is the result of BCCI’s decision to send an ‘A’ team to England. So well done! Make it more frequent so that you can develop players. That will give them more International experience and improve their knowledge towards attaining the peak.

As told in Part 1 of the series, players playing domestic cricket most often tend to develop a false sense of security. Performing in MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai is completely different from Trentbridge, Nottingham or WACA, Perth. A player who scores a double hundred in flat Chennai track will find that he is in Jupiter when he plays in Nottingham where the ball swings always!

All these can be found only when a player tours the country early on in his cricketing career! He should make it into the ‘A’ team and get valuable experience. Then he can shine at any level without any fear.

Virat Kohli averages close to 50 in ODIs which is a magnificent stat. How did he make it to the Indian team? Kohli who made his first-class debut for Delhi when he was 17-18 was a consistent performer for his state. That didn’t take him into limelight. It was the Australian tour where he was outstanding in the EMERGING players’ tournament. He was terrific in Melbourne, Sydney etc. against the ‘A’ teams of Australia, SA and NZ. In India’s tour of SL later that year, Kohli was onboard. This is just one such example. There are many, including India’s captain cool MS Dhoni.

It was a tri-series in Kenya which made MS Dhoni famous. India ‘A’ played against Kenya and Pak ‘A’ and MS Dhoni came up with outstanding knocks against Pak ‘A’. He hasn’t looked back since. From being a modest boy in Ranchi playing Ranji for Bihar,(which later separated), he has become the poster boy of Indian Cricket and he hardly plays for Jharkhand now!

Importance of ‘A’ tours doesn’t stop just there! A player will never say again that he is new to swinging or seaming conditions if he had been part of the touring ‘A’ side. Young Kevin Pietersen dominated when he toured India as a part of the visiting ‘A’ team then. Look where KP is now! He excels in all the situations, regardless of the conditions prevailing in the touring country.

Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly all played together ever since they were 16-17 years. For India U-17, U-19, India ‘A’ and later the national team! They formed the best Indian middle order ever. All these were due to the base of playing more ‘A’ tours!

Sadly, of late we don’t see that many ‘A’ tours. Atleast now we have seen Unadkat performing in England even before performing for Saurashtra. This will make him only stronger and Wasim Akram’s words that he will do big shall come true if he carries on!

It’s high time there are more tours of this kind. One thing that came out of the Zim tri series is the debutants’ knowledge gaining. Dinda, Vinay, Umesh and Ashwin would have all learnt a lot by playing against a reasonable SL and an International Zim side. They’ll all have a different mindset when they approach their game. Thanks to the seniors’ decision to rest, it happened. It can also happen if there are more foreign List A tours without the decision of the seniors.

It will be always appreciable if BCCI begs for more such tours with CA, CSA and ECB rather than pleading them to agree to a different schedule. What do you say?

Taking Indian Cricket Forward - Part 4

CALENDER

Indian Cricket never follows a fixed International calendar. They decide 2 months before, who they are going to play. This is never a good sign for anyone. There has to be a fixed calendar in which teams should be accommodated every year.

SA was scheduled to play 7 ODIs in February this year. India became No.1 last year and the only way they can retain the spot was to play more tests. What the BCCI did? Promptly asked the CSA to make it 2 tests and 3 ODIs! In these days, you cannot survive in the cricketing world if you oppose BCCI. So CSA consented and we saw the first ever double century in ODIs by the so called “God”. And India retained test No.1 as well.

But why make such a fuss? Why can’t there be a fixed calendar? It might be told by me for hundred times, but bear with me once again. Look at the Australian calendar. Have you ever seen Australia requesting Cricket SL to reduce a 5 test series into 3 tests and 3 ODIs? Oh my “Sachin Tendulkar” (OMG), think of the BCCI’s begging and you can’t resist your outrage. Shameful!

There will be a 3 test series followed by 5 match ODIs between Australia and one country. It will be followed by another 5 match ODIs and 3 tests with another country. This completes the Australian summer. Four years, 8 countries. Every country visits Australia once in 4 years. Nice and simple! This includes the Mother of all battles “The Ashes”.

Can you imagine a situation like this in India? Just answer this question. How many times have Sri Lanka and India played against each other in the last 2 years? You can count the number of hairs in your head faster than finding an answer for this. Absolutely ridiculous! To add to this, India is about to play a tri series in SL with NZ as the third team. Didn’t the same teams play last year? If I’m not wrong, it’s the COMPAQ Cup, the final in which the God scored one of his finest centuries.
Then India is scheduled to play another 3 test series followed by a 5 match ODI series in the Emerald Island. What is the limit? The value of the game is already lost and now after September it will be underground. Too much of something is good for nothing.

You see people opt out of series because they want REST. This thing will not happen if there is a fixed calendar. You suddenly arrange a series, ask the player to play when he is tired, aggravate his fatigue then lead him to isolation. Brilliant! When will these things change?

Now the BCCI has requested CA to agree to a changed schedule involving two tests. Tell me what do you get out of two tests? If a team wins the first test, everything is lost for the other. Had the Ashes of 2005, arguably the best series ever, been a two test contest would you have seen the fantastic foursome of England?

Play two teams every summer, tour a country every winter. Play a lot of domestic games, take adequate rest. You’ll have more fit cricketers then. Will this happen in India?

Last three questions before winding up. 1. What is the probability that India will play SL every day at some point in the future? 2. What is the probability that CA will agree to India’s request to include tests? 3. What is the probability that OMG will soon be OMST? The answer to all is the same.

PS: Please call him Sachin Tendulkar. He prefers it to God. I’ve used it to stress that. Not intentional.

Taking Indian Cricket Forward - Part 3

Pitch Quality

The recent ICC WT20 debacle in the WI showed clearly two things!

One, Indian batsmen are susceptible to quality fast bowling. Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson ran through India’s top order before Rohit Sharma’s rear guard action saved India from a damaging defeat. Two, clearly they can’t handle bounce! By bounce I mean the ball ‘rising and targeting the ribs’.

These two are complementary things. You cannot define ‘quality fast bowling’ if you don’t include ‘ability to bounce’ a batsman. Unfortunately India faced both during ICC WT20 2010 and 2009!

Are the Indian batsmen incapable of playing the rising delivery? Look at the names – Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni. These are real big names and not ‘once in a while’ performers like Chris Gayle or Brendon McCullum. They perform consistently all over and that’s why India is No.2 or 3 in ODIs.

So how did the big names falter twice? Was it because they didn’t have the technique to play bounce? No. It was the 22-yards that made all the difference. How could a team which hammered a good SA pace attack of Steyn & Co. falter against Nannes & Co.? The answer again is the 22-yards.

It was so unfortunate that the same thing happened twice. In England India were undone by Jerome Taylor & Co and here it was Kemar Roach. Action replay! Though after one year. Gautam Gambhir was at bay handling WI fast bowlers! It was very painful to watch!

The problem as it was said is the pitch and not the batsmen! The solution lies in preparing the pitch. Is there a better match India beating Australia at Perth? Can you get a pitch like that in India now? No. Is it possible? Yes. Very much so! The mindset needs to change. Indians have a feeling that Spin is Indian’s strength and so that’s how pitches should be in India. It’s not wrong. But they prepare flat tracks that produce tame draws! No flat tracks assist seam bowlers. And for everybody’s info, no flat tracks assist Spin till Day 3. Can you see a flaw in the plan? Evidently clear! Look at the Aussies. They have 6 international stadiums. Almost all produce results. Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Hobart and Adelaide are all terrific pitches.

What BCCI fails to understand is, though India may not win a test or two if they prepare pitch which assists seamers, it will help them to play better cricket overseas. India will not be bounced out like what we saw a couple of months back!
Coming back to the bounce factor, it’s because of the pitch that the rest don’t face as much trouble as Indians face. Having said that, no batsman in the world is efficient against bounce! It’s the degree of confidence you show that separates the good from the rest!

Sir Vivian Richards offered to coach India how to play bounce, after the WT20. The problem I stress again is not the batsmen. It’s where they play that poses problems! They play domestic cricket in pitches where the ball doesn’t rise above waist and when they play them they find it difficult!

So ability to play bounce confidently will come naturally once India prepares bouncy tracks. Hope this happens before Nostradamus’ predictions relating to 2012 happens! Which will happen first?

Taking Indian Cricket Forward - Part 2

SYSTEM – Tournaments

The Ranji Trophy is India’s prime tournament and the traditional pride of India in relation to Cricket. It also is the 4-day league and the test of skills for youngsters as regards entry to TEST CRICKET is concerned.

Every domestic season shall with a curtain-raiser and so the Irani Trophy between the Ranji Champions and the Rest of India makes sense too. Australia for example has a T20 between ACA all-stars and the Australian Team as the curtain-raiser to the season.

You also have the Vijay Hazare Trophy which is the ODD tournament, a 50-over league tournament. This helps in finding talented limited over cricketers. Then you have the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy which tests the abilities in Cricket’s newest form i.e Twenty20 Cricket.

Now what is the need for tournaments like Duleep Trophy (Zonal 4/5-day games) and Deodhar Trophy (Zonal ODD games). The problem is not easy as it seems. One it is not well attended. Nobody watches it with Interest (even the selectors sometimes). Two it is not televised. Rarely people know what these are all about.

Comedies galore in India’s domestic system! Except the Ranji Trophy (where too many teams play) the rest are zonal leagues. It means that if you want to play for India in ODIs all a Tamil Nadu Cricketer wants to do is to thrash Karnataka, Kerela, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad and Goa.(Vijay Hazare) If you are lucky enough then you have to play just two more games (semi final and final) against a similar qualifier from another Zone. (say Punjab or Mumbai or Bengal)

Is this enough for someone to be labeled as a top domestic ODI player? Yes you play the best in the semis and in the finals. But where is the equality? What the BCCI has done is to introduce a zonal ODD tournament (Deodhar) where there are only 4 games. A quarter final, two semifinals and a final!! What a compromise!

Now in case of a Zonal team say South, it is very difficult to leave out many! But you have to pick only 15! Tamil Nadu is one team which has been in top form in the last 3-4 seasons. But only 5-6 players play for South Zone. All 15 from Tamil Nadu can beat any zonal team on any given day. So where are the rest 9 players? Why can’t the BCCI extend the Vijay Hazare tournament by making sure 10 best teams (mentioned in the last blog) play others twice? Looks much better instead of playing against weaker teams once and in zones!

And make sure enough people watch it! Televise it! It’s well known how much BCCI collects from Neo Cricket as the price for telecasting International games! It will definitely be at least 5 times higher than what CA charges Channel -9 and ECB charges Sky Sports! So take measures to televise as many games as possible instead of just 2/3 games.

Another thing when it comes to telecasting is the use of separate channels. CA has Channel-9 for International games and FOX Sports for Domestic games. Aren’t there more than two Sports channels in India? There will be a clash between International games and domestic games calendar and domestic games are ignored. All this is because of having the same broadcaster for International and domestic cricket. I’m not saying that’s wrong. If such a situation happens then make sure it has a back up channel like Neo has Neo Sports to telecast domestic games! I know that’s what they are doing now but is that adequate?

Taking Indian Cricket Forward - Part 1

Domestic Setup

India’s domestic cricket setup is a bit tough to understand. You have 15 teams playing in the Ranji Super League. You have 12 more playing in the plate league. That makes it 27 teams.
England is the only other team that has so many teams playing domestic competition.

My point here is not to criticize having 27 teams! But to find out talents you have to make the number small. What will happen if that indeed matures?

Assume that the teams are narrowed to 10 maximum. That will make sure only the best play in the domestic league! Naturally they will hone their skills against the best. Why? Because, you will have only 10*15 = 150 playing in the domestic circuit. This will mean, players always play those who are competent to make the domestic squad.

So what happens to the rest is a serious question. Not without answers though. The point is to have only 10 domestic first teams. Every domestic team can have their second, third and fourth XI and an academy squad to develop players and make progress in every stage they play.

It’s like every state association having players who excel in their state leagues. You just cannot enter into a state team without performing in the local leagues. That is correct and there should be a refined form which should be implemented in the highest level also.

This could be a very unimaginable or a small issue. But the implications of this are more. Consider this. Abhimanyu Mithun, who made tremendous strides in the Ranji Super League made his ODI debut for India and was hammered to all parts by SA. Umesh Yadav, Ashoke Dinda and R Vinay Kumar were all treated like kids by Masakadza and Brendon Taylor.

Compare this with Ryan Harris who returned to International Cricket and took FIVE-FORs in his first two matches against Pakistan. Why is there a difference? It’s this reason mentioned above. Harris who played for South Australia (ONE OF THE ONLY SIX DOMESTIC TEAMS) and later shifted to Queensland, played against the top 90 players in the domestic and understood the game. Compare that with Mithun who bowled to many virtually raw players in the domestic and went into a false sense of security. On the International stage he floundered.

My point is not to point fingers at Mithun. He has done impressively and that’s why he is waiting to come in to the Indian side. But if you think bowling to AB de Villiers is the same as bowling to Pinal Shah, you are in for a shock.

Why can’t India break the defenses of Zimbabwe twice? Yes the bowlers are new but are they incapable? So what does their domestic form point to?
That’s the essence of this blog. Play the best. Come out on top. Get in to Team India, make India proud. Bowl more at MS Dhoni, not in the nets but in domestic league. Get his wicket often, your future is bright.

So how can it be done? Reduce the number of teams. Allow the best to play for the limited number of teams. The rest shall come up from the divisions. India will prosper. Or rather Indian Cricket will.

India should look at the Australians

Its been so disheartening as an Indian fan to watch the Men in Blue depend on mathematics to qualify for the semi finals. So what is wrong with the team which is the best prepared unit considering IPL was over only 5 days prior to the start of ICC WT20.
For starters lets get finished with pointing out fingers at the so-called fatigue factor. Yes, IPL finished on 25/4. But 5 days is good enough rest for 'professional' cricketers. MSD himself said it is a no issue once.
So where has it gone all wrong?
MS Dhoni might say that Spin is India's strength but on a pitch where pace gets assistance they must have exploited it. So the work starts with proper planning which i think was missing. By planning i mean the activities involved before the start of the tournament.
Both the selection committee and the players and Gary have played in WI and so knowing that Barbados will assist pace they must have kept that in mind. What is Vinay Kumar doing in the squad? He was virtually unplayable in the game vs. MI and was spectacular through out the IPL. Zaheer Khan admitted in his twitter page that he was not upto the mark and was even dumped vs. SA. Ashish Nehra is doing reasonably well and you need someone to compliment.
Let me get to the business. India must start looking for the best players on form and not on name. Yes Zaheer Lhan is a terrific player and a leader of the pack. But if he isn't performing well then one must start looking in the other direction and not hoping Zak will deliver. He is a gr8 bowler but he is currently out of form.
One look at the Aussie squad will give you why they are in top form. Look at the variety. Dirk Nannes left arm quick, Mitchell Johnson left arm slinger and Shaun Tait Right arm quick[also a slinger] Steve Smith a leggie and Shane Watson a fantastic all rounder.
The question is why is Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes not playing ODIs? Are they fit only for T20s? No. The answer is they are T20 specialists.
Now the batting, Dave Warner and Dave Hussey are destructive players speacialised in the format. So that makes it 2+2 players.
I can assure you that if they were born in India all four would have been starters in probably all the three formats.
The classic example is of Ishant Sharma. When he burst into fame in Intl. Cricket after an outstanding spell to Ricky Ponting one feared that how long it will last.! Where is Ishant now? The problem over exposure to all formats immediately.
Speaking of specialists, here is another serious thought. Example David Hussey. Bats at No.4 for Victoria, Australia, Kolkata Knight Riders and Nottinghamshire. He knows how to play there and is ready for all the sitations. Take Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan and Rohit Sharma. All batted at No.4 for their franchises. Now they are No.4, 5, 6 and 7 for India. You can say a cricketer must adjust to the batting position but T20 is such a short format that you need to adapt less. Claerly Yusuf Pathan faces only two options. Either he doesn't bat or bats only the last 2 overs when India bats first. When chasing he bats when India are 6 down with Jadeja/Bhajji or when they need 80 from 40 balls. He is a good player but he never played for RR in these situations. So the problem must been soon sorted.
My solution, is Yusuf if he is asked to bat at No.7 for India then must bat at No.7 for Baroda, West Zone and Raj. Royals or whatever team he plays for.
Then you'll see a different India. As I write India is not yet out of the tournament and I wish they make it to the semis. All the very best to Men in Blue.