Australia rules supreme

The pretenders to the throne could only gape in awe as Australia simply strolled away with the World Cup 2007, hardly breaking a sweat. Their total domination spoilt the tournament as a spectacle, but you can hardly blame the Australians for playing near perfect cricket over two months.

The semifinal against South Africa was virtually over by the end of the first hour, with the Aussie bowlers scything through the Springbok top half. And the final-a rain truncated affair- was decided by about midway of the Australian innings. Mathew Hayden was perceived as the main threat and trhe Sri Lankan bowlers succeeded in keeping him quiet and ultimately dismissing him. But it made no difference to the Australian progress, because his opening partner chose the final to regain his masterly touch at the crease. Adam Gilchrist, also after a quiet start, thrashed the Lankan bowlers-Vaas, Murali, Malinga, the lot- to all parts of the Kensington Oval and made all the other Aussie batsmen appear pedestrian in comparison.The Sri Lankan batsmen could be considered unfortunate in having to bat with an eye on the Duckworth-Lewis equations-always a dificult proposition, but really, long before that Gilchrist had ensured that his team would create history by winning the world cup thrice in a row.

Sri Lanka had the measure of a strangely off colour NewZealand in the semifinal, batting first and putting together a formidable 289/5. The Kiwis were never in the hunt and lost comfortably-they seemed to be badly affected by injuries;Styris was playing with a heavily strapped right hand and bowled just one over,Mcmillan went off early in the SriLankan innings;Bond seemed to have lost his rythm because of his absence from the last match.

South Africa elected to bat against Australia ,even though the wicket appeared to promise a lot of assistance for the bowlers. Clearly, they wanted to counter the Aussies' favoured tactics of simply batting out their opponents from the game.But now, the Australian bowlers took over-not without some help from Smith and Kallis, who were hell bent on charging Mcgrath and co. South Africa were 27/5 inside ten overs-match over!

So, how did the Australians do it? They were supposed to be vulnerable after defeats against England in the tri-series and then in New Zealand. The pundits predicted that Brett Lee's absence would be fatal to Australia's chances, but instead it gave Shaun Tait the chance to establish himself as a worthy replacement. You have to reflect that Australia completed this comprehensive sweep with two of their star performers-Mike Hussey and Andrew Symonds- not having to contribute significantly! Mcgrath is retiring from one-dayers, Hayden and Gilchrist may not last too long, but anyone want to bet that worthy successors will not be found? The Australians will take special joy in the success of left arm spinner Brad Hogg, who now looks set to force his way into the Test team. And Brad Hodge, out from their regular eleven, would walk into any of the other teams on view, on the strength of his batting and superb fielding.

At the moment, there is nothing to prevent Ricky Ponting from leading his team in the third straight World Cup in 2011. And unless the other teams take giant strides over the next four years, he will lead Australia to their fourth straight title without much trouble.

WORLD CUP ’07 – a damp squib?

There remains just two semifinals, and then the final, before this ninth edition of the Cricket World Cup is consigned to history; and these three confrontations will have to be really quality affairs to save this edition from being labeled as the least memorable so far.

No, it is not because India and Pakistan failed to make it past the first round. If anything, India’s absence has only brought some sanity to the tournament, with all the hypemakers withdrawing into their shell along with the Men In Blue.

The most dampening factor, of course, was the demise – later established as murder- of Bob Woolmer immediately after Pakistan’s shocker against Ireland. All sorts of speculation flew around, but investigations are still underway. It remains to be seen what finally comes out of the Pandorea’s box.

Even in the absence of India and Pakistan, the Super Eights would have been thrilling if only England and West Indies had played to potential. England’s dismal show can be attributed to one single factor- Andrew Flintoff’s utter failure with the bat. With Michael Vaughan back as skipper, it was widely hoped that the freedom from the captaincy shackles would see Freddie at his destructive best as the premier allrounder-but except for the occasional bursts with the ball, he has been disappointing, to say the least. This left Kevin Pietersen, the only other potential matchwinner in the side, with too much to do. And for reasons best known to themselves, England left out Liam Plunkett, their best bowler in the best of three finals in Australia, from most of their matches.The first casualty has already come to the fore, with coach Duncan Fletcher announcing that he is quitting.

However, the premier reason for the tournament's failure to capture the imagination has been the diabolical performance from the host team. The World Cup is yet to be won by a host nation, and the Windies have never threatened to rewrite that trend this time around. Brian Lara, for some strange reason, has been batting at number six, when he needed to seize the game by the scruff of the neck at number three. Chris Gayle and others, except for Sarwan, have been playing like novices in front of their home crowd.

Any cricket match in the Carribean is livened up by the boisterous,but knowledgeable, crowd accompanied by plenty of rum and music. The ICC, in their farsightedness, decided to ban both from the grounds which, coupled with high the ticket rates and the dismal show from the home team have driven the crowd – and the festive atmosphere- away from the grounds. Talk of poor marketing!

The complete- and sometimes even scary -dominance of Australia over the others have not helped either in providing exciting fare. Mathew Hayden has left most bowlers literally quaking in their boots, advancing upon them in the most intimidating manner. The way hulks like Hayden and Smith are moving towards the bowler even before the ball has left his hand, maybe it is time the ICC thought of something like the equivalent of the no-ball rule ( no-bat?) for batsmen! Ricky Ponting’s general body language has also been that of a man hugely confident in his team’s as well as his own abilities - master of all he surveys. Even allowing for the tremendous performances from Hayden, Ponting, Bracken etc, Australia continues to give the impression of playing as a team. One huge plus for them in this World Cup has been the bowling of Brad Hogg. Not a single batsman, not even a left hander, has read his wrong ‘un throughout the tournament. And Mike Hussey hasn't even had to contribute much as yet! Does this team have to be coached or even captained? Their opponents will be rueing the fact that Australia succumbed to England and New Zealand just prior to the World cup. The defeats would have alerted the Aussies to the chinks that still existed in their armouries and required ironing out-and threw out of the window any chance of the World champions being complacent. The only solace opponents can find would be that Austraia have not yet had an indifferent match in this tourney and that maybe they are due for one. But such rules apply only to ordinary teams, and this team is currently playing anything but ordinary cricket.

Going purely by form, you have to predict an Australia –Sri Lanka final. South Africa has historically become tentative once the business end of a World Cup is reached, and they are up against, arguably, the best one day side that has ever played. They still don’t have a capable spinner to bolster their one-dimensional attack, and Australia will seize on any such weakness.Pollock, Nel and co. do not inspire the same trepidation in the minds of the Aussie batsmen. It is more the other way round - ever seen Andre Nel trying to stare down an Aussie batsman?

New Zealand’s chances against Sri Lanka will increase by about 40% if Shane Bond is fit to play-he single handedly transforms a run of the mill bowling attack to a very penetrative one! The other bowlers appear to be a much more confident lot when Bond is around. But their batsmen will still have to find a way to see off Muralitharan and at the same time take 4 an over from him. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be praying that Lasith Malinga will be fully fit. A bowling attack with Vaas, Murali and an on- song Malinga will be a handful even for Matt Hayden and co. But Sri Lanka are not batting very well at the moment and depend too much on Jayasuriya for those explosive starts which could be later consolidated upon.

Given the unpredictabilties of cricket, it is still not impossible that Australia is dethroned; let us just say it is highly improbable!Every bad ball has to be punished, every single taken, every chance-or even half a chance- converted, to compete against this Australian team.

Sreesanth - Kerala cricket's great hope

'Team India' - time to shape up or ship out

The premature exit of ‘Team India’ or ‘the Men in Blue’- or whatever you care to call them- from the first round of the World Cup has predictably opened the floodgates. Comments and opinions, mostly vitriolic, are pouring in from all quarters as to what is wrong with Indian cricket, players, selectors, officials, the lot. And to think that it took a World Cup first round loss for the realization to sink in!

We can look at it both ways. This latest debacle could, in the long run, yet prove to be the best thing that could have happened to Indian cricket-provided the lessons are willingly learnt. On the other hand, if all the dirt is sought to be swept under the carpet, as is usually the tendency, and a temporary solution found with the sacking of a coach here or a captain there, it will sound the death knell of a system already rotting at the foundations.

Let’s face it, no discerning follower of cricket – Mandira Bedi does not qualify as one- really expected India, at best, to go beyond the super eights in this World Cup. It is another matter that the greedy Corporates and the unscrupulous media tried their best to convince themselves and the gullible fans that India were the favourites. Nothing that happened in the last six months prior to the World Cup even remotely suggested that India were in with a chance.But admitting this stark fact would not have been in the best (economic) interests of the sponsors, the TV channels, the Board and the players themselves, would it?

Why did not a single player, or captain, who are now lamenting the extreme pressure heaped on them by ‘the weight of expectations’, stand up before the team left for West Indies and admit frankly what they knew all along- that the team were, in fact, rank outsiders? But admitting that would not have made them very popular with their sponsors, would it?

Anyway let’s ,for a moment, examine the cumulative experience among the top Indian players

Sachin Tendulkar - 384 matches
Rahul Dravid - 309 matches
Saurav Ganguly - 288 matches
Anil Kumble - 269 matches
Ajit Agarkar - 183 matches
Yuvraj Singh - 166 matches
Virendra Sehwag - 163 matches
Harbhajan Singh - 149 matches
Zaheer Khan - 116 matches

We are talking about 2027 One Day Internationals among the senior nine stalwarts!With all that experience, if they cannot handle this pressure- any pressure- I am afraid they have no business being on the cricket field.

Wholesale changes in the team will take us nowhere, simply because our domestic circuit is not exactly brimming with players of international class. The ideal way to move forward would be to continue with Rahul Dravid as captain, since he is still the best option. Turning back to Sachin Tendulkar - as suggested in some quarters - would be downright stupid, since he has already proved to be one of the most uninspiring captains India have ever had. He is also nearing the end of his career. Somebody like Mohd. Kaif has to be be made the Vice Captain and groomed for the future captaincy.

Fitness needs to be given paramount importance. The current Indian and Pakistan teams are light years behind even Sri Lanka in this regard-and it is no coincidence that they find themselves back home at such an early stage of the World Cup. Cricket appears to be going the hockey way, with power fast becoming equal in importance to skill. And unless we begin to address the fitness aspect at the earliest, India and Pakistan could find themselves obsolete in cricket as well, very soon. Perhaps the Board could even go to the extent of seeking the help of the Army to train the team in this area.

The domestic circuit must be revamped, with a substantial reduction in the number of teams. The players must be given a chance to play on true and lively pitches, instead of the usual dust bowls. And our international stars should not be allowed to skip domestic fixtures on flimsy grounds.

A meaningful Players’ Association is another need of the hour; I believe something of the sort exists even now, but the only thing it does is toe the BCCI line. A strong Players’ Association can go a long way in helping the players to feel secure. But, negotiating contracts for the players should not be the only aim of this Association.It should also regulate the sponsorship and endorsement contracts each player enters and ensure his on - field performance does not suffer due to his commitments off it. Above all, it should succeed in effectively regulating the number of international matches played in a season, which is ridiculously more than desirable these days. India is scheduled to play almost non-stop over the next one year, while teams like Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka have four months’ rest after the World Cup. But all these restrictions on endorsements and number of matches will mean a decrease in earnings for both BCCI and the players, and it remains to be seen whether they are prepared to ‘suffer’ this loss in income. As far as the players are concerned, such a move would help them in the long run by prolonging their careers.

And what of the Board? If wholesale changes have indeed to occur, they need to occur first and foremost in the BCCI. The performance of a Cricket Board – or any other sports body- has to be judged mainly by the performance of the team representing it, and not the balance sheet. There is no hope for Indian cricket as long as it is run as a business-and not as a sport. It is time the reins are handed over to ex-players who know what the game is all about. This ‘honorary’ nonsense should end and the officials and selectors should be on salary, and accountable. Marketing can be handed over to professionals in that field to take care of.

For too long now, the BCCI-and the State Associations- have been a collection of greedy and power hungry businessmen and politicians who could not care less about the game they are supposed to govern. Typically, these associations consist of a couple of supremos and a bunch of subservient sycophants around them. They form a tight knit group and take care to never allow fresh minds or ideas inside their coterie - it is 'you scratch me;I'll scratch you' all the way! Though there exists clauses in the bye laws to restrict their terms of office, they easily find ways to circumvent them. A former BCCI Secretary has been an office bearer in the Kerala Cricket Association, in some post or the other, for so long there is every chance that Kerala cricket-Sreesanth and all- will be buried alongside him . Another businessman , after being President for the maximum prescribed eight years, couldn’t bear not to be 'serving' the game any longer, so he is back as….Treasurer! Such servants of the game exist in every State Association- officials who cannot bear to lose their posts and the power and privileges that go with it, and hang on like leeches. So, the 'player takeover' needs to start at the club and district level itself.

Meanwhile, it is quite hilarious to hear our aged politicians like dear Laloo speak about the need for youth to be inducted into the Indian cricket team. As if our political field does not need youth! Whatever the drawbacks of the Indian cricket team, they at least cannot be accused of the one service these politicians have unabashedly been rendering us all these years – looting the trousers off the nation!

Update
Tendulkar’s attitude
Whatever his recent performances on the field, Sachin Tendulkar’s one saving grace has been his ability to preserve his dignity even in the face of harsh criticism. Now, along with his batting abilities, even that quality seems to have gone out of the window. Instead of waiting for Greg Chappell’s report to be made official and then responding like a mature cricketer, Tendulkar has chosen to bawl out like a baby. He says he is 'hurt' that his attitude has been questioned. Well, I have news for him;it is not just the coach who is questioning the attitude of Tendulkar and his cronies in the team, the whole cricket world, except maybe his diehard fans, are questioning it – and quite justifiably too!

Attitude, as applied to a cricketer, is not just encouraging your team mates after every ball or throwing yourself at every ball on the field. It is also measured by your response, as a frontline batsman or bowler, to critical situations in key matches. At no stage in the two key World cup matches, when the team needed him most, did Tendulkar even remotely look like trying to win the match for India. And, before that, South Africa -what justification can Tendulkar give for that horrible dab shot which he played to get out when the Second test in South Africa was hanging in the balance, or partnering Rahul Dravid in that inexplicable crawl against the ordinary left arm spin of Paul Harris, which gave South Africa the third Test? These were without doubt the turning points of a series which India should have won 2- nil, but instead lost 1-2. If a Pakistan batsman were involved in these situations, he would instantly have been accused of match fixing!

If the coach and support staff were indeed overstepping their limits as alleged by Tendulkar now, why was this not pointed out to the authorities before leaving for the World Cup? And he wants us to spare a thought for the players! Pray for what- the crores the poor fellows are ‘earning’ at the expense of the gullible fans?


Sreesanth - Kerala cricket's great hope