I was travelling during the last leg of the world cup and hence could not pen anything down. It is probably too late to comment on what happened in the last stages but I can't help writing about the world champions.
This was clearly the most convincing world cup performances I have ever seen from any team. The Kangaroos clearly stood taller than the rest of the pack. Their game was at a level which was probably 40% higher than the next best teams. It was supposed to be an open world cup and it did turn out to be one as we had unexpected results in some cases, but only for the rest of the world. Australians displayed the same intensity in each and every game as they had done in the finals of the last world cup. Their performance was simply extra-ordinary.
Before the world up started, I was not too sure about their bowling. I thought McGrath would get hammered and Bracken & Tait would succumb to the pressure. Hogg, I thought, was no comparison to Murali or Kumble or Vettori. Their batting looked strong on paper but I always thought it relied heavily on big knocks from Ponting & Gilchrist and maybe some damage control towards the end by Hussey. However their performances proved me and many others wrong. Their batting was out-of-the-world and I would give the credit to Hayden for that. The big man was unbelievable. He scored big runs really really fast. Gilchrist delivered in the finals and Ponting was consistent throughout as usual. The middle order hardly had any pressure. What McGrath with the bowling did is history now. He yet again proved that good line and length can work wonders for you and speed is only secondary. Bracken & Tait were very good as well and came back with a lot of wickets. All-in-all, it was a super effort from a super team. Their world cup performance deserves a No. 1 ranking for them for the next 5 years.
Well done, Australia!!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
Bangladesh tour selection
In general, I am quite happy with what our selectors have done. However, there are a few areas where I am not in agreement.
Before going into the details of the one day and test teams, I would like to comment on the general feeling of having younger players in the side. This, according to me, is complete bull shit. You cannot kill your present while preparing for the future. I am not saying that older generation should be in the team based on their statistics alone. They definitely need to perform - with bat, ball and even on the field. They may be given benefit of doubt sometimes based their history but if the performances are consistently below par, they ought to be sent back to the domestic arena. Having said this, if a player in his 30s is still capable, he ought to be there ahead of Rainas, Kaifs and Mongias. If you do not agree, I will rest my case with asking you to take a look at how Hayden, Ponting, Jayasurya and Kallis have played in this world cup and we all know how old they are.
Switching back to the team selection topic and talking of one dayers first, not having Tendulkar there is fine for me as long as he is being rested. This is the right tour to rest him. Ganguly has been the highest scorer of late, but the way he has played somehow makes you feel that he is playing to get runs for himself. However, I am sure that is not the case. He needs to score a little faster to justify his place as an opener. I will give a thumbs up to Dravid for ensuring Sehwag's inclusion in the side. That guy is gifted and it is not over for him yet. Uthappa's retention, inspite of his recent failures, is also a good news. Having Sreesanth & RP Singh in the team ahead of Agarkar and VRV is also a good decision. Similarly, dropping Harbhajan is an excellent move. Of late, he was not effective at all and never looked like that he'll get any wickets. Will be eager to see how Piyush Chawla will perform if he gets a chance. What I do not like is the inclusion of Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Mongia. We have 2 openers in Sehwag and Uthappa and we should be playing them in all matches and let them get their confidence back. If one of them fails in this series as well, Gambhir could be tried out, but not now. Mongia, who is not even young, has had enough chances. We needed some fresh youngsters in the middle order. Even Raina (not sure of he is fit) or Kaif would have been a better choice.
As for the test team, good to see Tandulkar, Ganguly and Laxman there. Unfortunately, Yuvraj has not got many chances to play in tests. He is a champion player for me and it is high time we start playing him regularly in tests as well. Including Karthick as an opener is a good way to give him some opportunities to prove himself. I would have preferred Sehwag there but I can wait for a series. Dropping Harbhajan is again a good move. And opting for VRV here instead of RP again makes room for both to showcase their talent, though in different forms of game. From what I have seen so far, RP Singh is much more mature and effective than VRV. I hope to see a more mature VRV in this series.
It will be interesting to see how Indians perform after their world cup show, especially after that shock loss to Bangladesh. Will they be very keen to trounce the hosts and thereby prove a point or two. I hope so ... but only the time will tell!
Before going into the details of the one day and test teams, I would like to comment on the general feeling of having younger players in the side. This, according to me, is complete bull shit. You cannot kill your present while preparing for the future. I am not saying that older generation should be in the team based on their statistics alone. They definitely need to perform - with bat, ball and even on the field. They may be given benefit of doubt sometimes based their history but if the performances are consistently below par, they ought to be sent back to the domestic arena. Having said this, if a player in his 30s is still capable, he ought to be there ahead of Rainas, Kaifs and Mongias. If you do not agree, I will rest my case with asking you to take a look at how Hayden, Ponting, Jayasurya and Kallis have played in this world cup and we all know how old they are.
Switching back to the team selection topic and talking of one dayers first, not having Tendulkar there is fine for me as long as he is being rested. This is the right tour to rest him. Ganguly has been the highest scorer of late, but the way he has played somehow makes you feel that he is playing to get runs for himself. However, I am sure that is not the case. He needs to score a little faster to justify his place as an opener. I will give a thumbs up to Dravid for ensuring Sehwag's inclusion in the side. That guy is gifted and it is not over for him yet. Uthappa's retention, inspite of his recent failures, is also a good news. Having Sreesanth & RP Singh in the team ahead of Agarkar and VRV is also a good decision. Similarly, dropping Harbhajan is an excellent move. Of late, he was not effective at all and never looked like that he'll get any wickets. Will be eager to see how Piyush Chawla will perform if he gets a chance. What I do not like is the inclusion of Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Mongia. We have 2 openers in Sehwag and Uthappa and we should be playing them in all matches and let them get their confidence back. If one of them fails in this series as well, Gambhir could be tried out, but not now. Mongia, who is not even young, has had enough chances. We needed some fresh youngsters in the middle order. Even Raina (not sure of he is fit) or Kaif would have been a better choice.
As for the test team, good to see Tandulkar, Ganguly and Laxman there. Unfortunately, Yuvraj has not got many chances to play in tests. He is a champion player for me and it is high time we start playing him regularly in tests as well. Including Karthick as an opener is a good way to give him some opportunities to prove himself. I would have preferred Sehwag there but I can wait for a series. Dropping Harbhajan is again a good move. And opting for VRV here instead of RP again makes room for both to showcase their talent, though in different forms of game. From what I have seen so far, RP Singh is much more mature and effective than VRV. I hope to see a more mature VRV in this series.
It will be interesting to see how Indians perform after their world cup show, especially after that shock loss to Bangladesh. Will they be very keen to trounce the hosts and thereby prove a point or two. I hope so ... but only the time will tell!
Anti-Climax, yet again ..
Australia really looked like an unbeatable team when they thrashed New Zealand by over 200 runs in yet another anti-climax of this tournament. The way Kiwis went down was really disappointing, to say the least.
Hayden yet again delivered. Isn't it ironical that he was struggling to get into the one day side a few months back? It is amazing to see how a player totally transforms once he gets a few big knocks. Hayden was ably supported by Ponting, who is the best. This guy amazes me. He always delivers. What Shane Watson did at the end was also very exciting. Australia's strength is batting and they surely look like the strongest batting side at the moment. The only bowling attack that may stop them, I feel, is that of Lankans. Well, let's wait and watch. And the wait is not too long. The first semi-final starts later today ...
Hayden yet again delivered. Isn't it ironical that he was struggling to get into the one day side a few months back? It is amazing to see how a player totally transforms once he gets a few big knocks. Hayden was ably supported by Ponting, who is the best. This guy amazes me. He always delivers. What Shane Watson did at the end was also very exciting. Australia's strength is batting and they surely look like the strongest batting side at the moment. The only bowling attack that may stop them, I feel, is that of Lankans. Well, let's wait and watch. And the wait is not too long. The first semi-final starts later today ...
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The Last Men Standing ..
SA hammered Eng yesterday thereby making all the remaining matches in the Super Eight inconsequential. Not only have the semi-finalists been decided (Aus, NZ, SL & SA) but the semi-final line-up also is frozen for all practical purposes.
Australia will finish at the top even if they lose to NZ in their last match on account of their excellent net run-rate. SL can overtake NZ to be at No. 2 if they hammer Ireland and NZ loses to Aus but it hardly makes a difference. Nobody can displace SA from No. 4 slot. In all cases, Aus will clash with SA whereas the Kiwis will take on the Lankans.
All I can hope for is that we get to see some exciting cricket in the semis; don't mind a couple of nail-biting finishes. We had a very few closely contested games in this world cup so far; so by the law of averages we should have some interesting games coming our way in the next 10 days. I personally would want to have a new world champion and would be rooting for NZ and SA in the last leg. Aus hasn't lost a world cup game since 1999 and I am sure the law of averages would catch up to them as well and if it doesn't, Ricky Ponting would go in to my books as the greatest (though highly underrated) captain of all time.
Australia will finish at the top even if they lose to NZ in their last match on account of their excellent net run-rate. SL can overtake NZ to be at No. 2 if they hammer Ireland and NZ loses to Aus but it hardly makes a difference. Nobody can displace SA from No. 4 slot. In all cases, Aus will clash with SA whereas the Kiwis will take on the Lankans.
All I can hope for is that we get to see some exciting cricket in the semis; don't mind a couple of nail-biting finishes. We had a very few closely contested games in this world cup so far; so by the law of averages we should have some interesting games coming our way in the next 10 days. I personally would want to have a new world champion and would be rooting for NZ and SA in the last leg. Aus hasn't lost a world cup game since 1999 and I am sure the law of averages would catch up to them as well and if it doesn't, Ricky Ponting would go in to my books as the greatest (though highly underrated) captain of all time.
The 2nd "Knock-Out"
After a rather one-sided crucial game between SA and WI, we have an equally crucial game later today, gain featuring SA (if only they had won it against Bangladesh). This time they take on the Englishmen.
If SA play (read bat) to their potential just like they did against the hosts, it will be very tough for England to pose any kind of threat. The key for England would be to somehow restrict SA to under 250 (if bowling first) and I am sure we will have a great game at hand. In my previous post on the 1st knock-out I had mentioned that the strategy for WI should be to bowl first. They did that and got hammered :) However, I will be consistent and repeat that if England need to win they will be better off bowling first and also restricting the SA batsmen. Why I say that (and I will keep doing that especially against teams like Aus, SA & NZ) is because they have some very dangerous batsmen who happen to be mentally tough too. SA have Smith, Villers, Kallis & Boucher; Aus has Hayden, Ponting, Hussey & Symonds; NZ has Styris, McMillan, Oram & Fulton. These guys can chase any total down unless you score 400 batting first :)
If Eng manage to beat SA and later go on to beat WI, they will be a totally changed side and a force to reckon with in the semis. If they win this one but lose to WI, we have a potential 3-way tie and SA can still make it to the semis if Eng lose badly to WI. Well, let us discuss this tomorrow .. it will save us some trouble!
If SA play (read bat) to their potential just like they did against the hosts, it will be very tough for England to pose any kind of threat. The key for England would be to somehow restrict SA to under 250 (if bowling first) and I am sure we will have a great game at hand. In my previous post on the 1st knock-out I had mentioned that the strategy for WI should be to bowl first. They did that and got hammered :) However, I will be consistent and repeat that if England need to win they will be better off bowling first and also restricting the SA batsmen. Why I say that (and I will keep doing that especially against teams like Aus, SA & NZ) is because they have some very dangerous batsmen who happen to be mentally tough too. SA have Smith, Villers, Kallis & Boucher; Aus has Hayden, Ponting, Hussey & Symonds; NZ has Styris, McMillan, Oram & Fulton. These guys can chase any total down unless you score 400 batting first :)
If Eng manage to beat SA and later go on to beat WI, they will be a totally changed side and a force to reckon with in the semis. If they win this one but lose to WI, we have a potential 3-way tie and SA can still make it to the semis if Eng lose badly to WI. Well, let us discuss this tomorrow .. it will save us some trouble!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
The 1st "Knock-Out"
The game between WI and SA later today is literally the first knock-out. Both teams need to win this one in order to keep their semi-final hopes alive. I have not worked out all possible combinations but for all practical purposes the loser today can start planning for the next world cup or probably for the 20-20 one later this year :-)
While WI have looked hopeless in the first 3 Super Eight games and can only improve from here, SA have no one else to blame but themselves for this situation. With due respect to the super duper Bangladesh team, SA should have won that match. As you all know (if you have read my previous posts on this blog), I will root for the hosts today. They have a very strong top order (at least on paper) and I hope it comes alive today. Their bowling attack is also pretty decent in my opinion. What they will be against is an equally strong and sometimes very aggressive batting capabilities of the South African team. For SA, a lot depends on the kind of start they get from Smith and DeVillers. With Gibbs doubtful for today's crucial game (or is it just a mind game?), a lot will depend on Kallis and Boucher. Their bowling is not too much of a worry.
As for the strategy, I would want WI to chase. SA, as we have seen in the recent past, can chase quite well (yeah I know they were chasing against Bangladesh but let us forget that for now). Also, while bowling I would like to see Gayle and Samuels bowling at least 15 overs between them. May the better team win today!
While WI have looked hopeless in the first 3 Super Eight games and can only improve from here, SA have no one else to blame but themselves for this situation. With due respect to the super duper Bangladesh team, SA should have won that match. As you all know (if you have read my previous posts on this blog), I will root for the hosts today. They have a very strong top order (at least on paper) and I hope it comes alive today. Their bowling attack is also pretty decent in my opinion. What they will be against is an equally strong and sometimes very aggressive batting capabilities of the South African team. For SA, a lot depends on the kind of start they get from Smith and DeVillers. With Gibbs doubtful for today's crucial game (or is it just a mind game?), a lot will depend on Kallis and Boucher. Their bowling is not too much of a worry.
As for the strategy, I would want WI to chase. SA, as we have seen in the recent past, can chase quite well (yeah I know they were chasing against Bangladesh but let us forget that for now). Also, while bowling I would like to see Gayle and Samuels bowling at least 15 overs between them. May the better team win today!
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Bangladesh and the semi-final line up ...
Bangladesh, against South Africa, once again looked hungry, focused, united & sharp. They were looking ditto when they forced India out of this world cup. They proved a point here - the win against India was not a fluke. I have really started liking this team. The India's tour of Bangladesh, especially when BCCI is talking about sending young team there, suddenly looks like a very interesting tour now.
Coming back to world cup, I am very pleased with this upset for a couple of reasons. Both of them revolve around the fact that the upset is inline with my predicitons.
We all know how tough it is to make any predicitons in modern-day cricket and I had dared to make one on the semi-final line-up. I fell on my face when one of my favourites - India was shown the door very early on. But then I had predicted that Australia may be on of the top four thereby displacing one of my top four. In this case, it had to be India sadly. However, I would be glad if at least the other four namely Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Australia & West Indies do make it to last four. I have never liked South Africa because their bowling to me looks so ineffective and I am not a big fan of their late middle order as well except ofcourse Boucher. So, with this upset, atleast South Africa is no longer a surity in the last four. Ofcourse SA still stands a better chance than Eng or WI to make it into last four based on current form and maybe ICC rankings. But then, WI now has an outside chance as well of making it, if they win their remaining 3 matches, all of which are against decent opponents (and I know Bangladesh is one of them). I so much want WI to fire in this last leg and make an impact. They are capable of stopping Australia; they have done it in the recent past.
The other reason why I am pleased is that I had also predicted a few more upsets in the Super 8 especially at the hands of Bangladesh. One down, maybe one more to go (hope it is not WI this time).
Switching the context and focusing back on Bangladesh, I wonder if we have another Sri Lanka in the making. I remember watching cricket as kid and observing all teams beat the heck out of Sri Lanka which was the worst team those days (of course we did not have Kenya and Bangladesh). What happened a decade later in 1996 is history now. In Bangladesh, we have a team with a lot of very young and promising cricketers who, with a few more years, could mature into world beaters. If that happens, it will do a world of good to cricket in general. And maybe a decade from now, we will have 30 teams participating in the cricket world cup and a new world champion that was considered a minnow 10 years back. Ah! What a wish ...
Coming back to world cup, I am very pleased with this upset for a couple of reasons. Both of them revolve around the fact that the upset is inline with my predicitons.
We all know how tough it is to make any predicitons in modern-day cricket and I had dared to make one on the semi-final line-up. I fell on my face when one of my favourites - India was shown the door very early on. But then I had predicted that Australia may be on of the top four thereby displacing one of my top four. In this case, it had to be India sadly. However, I would be glad if at least the other four namely Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Australia & West Indies do make it to last four. I have never liked South Africa because their bowling to me looks so ineffective and I am not a big fan of their late middle order as well except ofcourse Boucher. So, with this upset, atleast South Africa is no longer a surity in the last four. Ofcourse SA still stands a better chance than Eng or WI to make it into last four based on current form and maybe ICC rankings. But then, WI now has an outside chance as well of making it, if they win their remaining 3 matches, all of which are against decent opponents (and I know Bangladesh is one of them). I so much want WI to fire in this last leg and make an impact. They are capable of stopping Australia; they have done it in the recent past.
The other reason why I am pleased is that I had also predicted a few more upsets in the Super 8 especially at the hands of Bangladesh. One down, maybe one more to go (hope it is not WI this time).
Switching the context and focusing back on Bangladesh, I wonder if we have another Sri Lanka in the making. I remember watching cricket as kid and observing all teams beat the heck out of Sri Lanka which was the worst team those days (of course we did not have Kenya and Bangladesh). What happened a decade later in 1996 is history now. In Bangladesh, we have a team with a lot of very young and promising cricketers who, with a few more years, could mature into world beaters. If that happens, it will do a world of good to cricket in general. And maybe a decade from now, we will have 30 teams participating in the cricket world cup and a new world champion that was considered a minnow 10 years back. Ah! What a wish ...
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