Whose game is it anyway?

Well, Cricket is such a glorious game indeed but whose game is it at the end? 

Who is the ultimate owner? The organizers? The players? The fans? 

Whose game is it anyway?

Let's take a closer look at the 'stakeholders' in this game.

1. Batsmen
A lot of people say that it is a batsman's game. After all, in the subcontinent where it is the most popular game, people pay (sometimes through their noses) to see batsmen hit the ball out of the boundary. Almost 75% of children want to become batsmen in the sub-continent (my unsubstantiated gut-feel). A batsman, more often than not, is the most glorified player in cricket. (case in point Mr. Sachin Tendulkar) Everybody in India remembers the 6 sixes hit by Yuvraj in an over more than Chetan Sharma's hat trick (first by an Indian) in ODIs. In fact, a new format of T20 was invented purely for viewers and fans to see the fireworks from batsman's bat. 
It surely seems like it is a batsman's game, isn't it? 
Surely batsmen practice and practice and practice to get it right. Also, batsmen always get a split second to react or respond to a ball thrown at 140-150 kmph at them by the bowlers. So, without a doubt, what they achieve in their capacity to act in that split second deserves phenomenal applause and respect. Especially for those goddamn perfectly awesome drives, cuts and pulls that are just a pleasure to watch.

But let's remember, batsmen have NO room for error. One mistake and *poof*, you are gone, out. No second chances, none at all in that innings. You can bat and bat for hours with concentration but one small lapse and it is the end of the road. 
So while batsmen hog a lot of glory and work hard for it, this is an unfair game for them compared to what it is for the bowlers, would you think?  Is it really a batsmen's game then? 

2. Bowlers
Bowling is hard work isn't it? You run in, you try and hide the way you are holding the ball while throwing it, you have to ensure you don't overstep and hey, every ball must be perfect (as if you are Glenn McGrath!). If you bowl at pace or spin, you got to try and get the best way to bowl at your opponent batsman. And then, you are only as good as the batsman opposite you allows you to be! 
You fire in a delivery to the best of your ability and the batsman whose eye is set in simply drives you out of the boundary. All the hard work, the sweat, the dust, the heat and you are shown the boundary. Time and again. Also, if you have to take a wicket and unless you get the batsman bowled, you need help from others to get him out otherwise - fielders and umpires. Not a pure win over your opponent always, unlike the batsman who purely wins against you, right?
It surely doesn't seem like it is a bowler's game, right? 

But hey, you as a bowler have two fundamental benefits in this game. 
1. You can make mistakes and come again to correct the mistakes. Even if a batsman hits you for 5 sixes in a row, you can still get your revenge in the 6th ball by getting the batsman out. You get multiple chances, the batsman doesn't.
2. You don't need to react unlike the batsman. You don't need to react in a split second. You can take your time, seize your moment and run in to give your best, you take action, not reaction. This is a huge huge benefit. 
So, is it really a bowler's game then?

3. Fielders (including wicket keeper)
Fielders - people who stand in the field, waiting for the ball to come to their side, either on the ground or from the sky. 
For them, this is a waiting game. Yawn?
Very easy to get casual and lose seriousness, especially if you are not standing closer to the action and / or the pitch. But one good save or a catch can save or win the match and you are the hero! Kapil Dev caught Viv Richards running backwards that changed the complete match in 1983 and helped win the first ever world cup for India! 
So being a fielder has it's own moments and can make you a hero or a villain (Remember 'Mate, you just dropped the World Cup!'?)

And then Jonty Rhodes and Siddhu turned the whole sentiment around for fielding with their acrobatic fielding and jumps pleasing to the eye that make your go 'Wow!'
So, it isn't really a fielder's game no? Or is it?

4. The organizers/ The Bosses: 
Cricket, at domestic and international levels, is a game completely owned by private clubs. They are supposed to help grow the game, take care of the players, organize matches and series, sell rights and make loads of money. The game is vital to them, but it is as much as pulses are to a grocer or cloth is to the tailor. The game, to the organizers, is only a means to an end. It is not the end. But without this means, the end will not be there, unless the organizers decide another business. Yes, the game is the business for organizers. 
So clearly, the game isn't their game, is it?
While socialist in you may scoff at this, but business isn't all bad. Business means growth, more money to all (almost all) involved, revenue and profits that can be re-invested in game. To nurture new players, better facilities for players, better pay and better motivation.

5. Fans/Viewers:
That's us! Is it our game at all? We just sit outside clap, appreciate, curse, despair, applaud and sometimes cry. We are nowhere in the main action but we think we are. We think we are an integral part of the game. We think we know better than the players actually playing the game. "Idiot, why is he bowling so short?" or "He should have stayed in the crease and waited for the ball". 

Experts, huh? Or Armchair critics who no one gives a damn about?
So, it seems if I say it isn't a viewer or fan's game, you will say "No Shit, Sherlock!", right?
But then what is a game that is played in front of nobody? It is like a beautiful song sung when no one's around to hear it and appreciate it. Most of the sports require viewers and popular sports get natural attraction from the viewers. Players also play to the gallery a lot (most?) of the times.
So is it game a played for viewers? 

Coming back to the main question again, really, whose game is it anyway? 

As I provided details about the game in my earlier post http://chendufali.blogspot.in/2011/01/cricket-game.html, I think the game really belongs to those who are a part of it at a given point in time. 

A batsman facing a ball or waiting with wide eyes as he watches the ball or hitting it, a bowler running in and trying a magic with his wrists or forearm, a fielder running after a ball, a keeper collecting it, an umpire paying attention, viewers forgetting they are in the stand, yes, the game is everyone's game as long as they are being some part of it while it is played. Simple as that. We cannot generalize it over long time, as the game isn't played over long time. It belongs to those who are playing some part in it 'while' it is played.

The game belongs to one and all at a point in time for those who feel one with it at that time. 

Well, there; I hope that that answers that. 

(All photos courtesy: Google Images)

BCCI's Business

BCCI struggles to fit the 'fit' 11 to board the flight to WI. Short-sightedness or too much greed or complete carelessness about the players?
I think all of these and the root cause is the way BCCI runs its business.
It's a shame that for a fantastic business that BCCI has in this country, it is so grossly mis-managed (understatement of the century may be) and survives solely due to the monopoly it enjoys in this country of over a billion customers!
Adage goes "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Nothing proves this more than the BCCI mess.
BCCI has upon itself to plan the domestic tournaments, international tournaments, and IPL extravaganza. These are business commitments that it makes to its customers. When you are running a business where demand far outstrips the supply, the key is to manage inventory of resources.
It is a business of providing service and hence all the more important to keep its customers happy. However, its services are based on human resources and hence also important to keep those resources happy and fit to serve its business interests. Considering that each business commitment is equally important for all the stakeholders.
It is running the business similar to a lot of Indian IT service companies - who in order to get more business, overcommit and then exploit the resources to meet those business commitments. Exploited resources often underperform eventually not satisfying the customer's business plans. Failure written all over the way BCCI conducts its business.
That 'Survival' and 'Profit' are the only two drivers for any business is well known but solely focusing on profit in short term often can lead to survival issues in the long run.
Administration is one thing and management another.
When will BCCI learn this or rather when will BCCI 'want' to learn this?
One hopes soon.

Cricket: The Game

A wonderful cricketing season is now over where we saw Australia start the slide after a peak of decade in test cricket and emergence of England and India as the top test teams, where we saw NZ reach nadir until they finally maanged to beat Pakistan in the ODI - Pakistan, who have looked very Pakistani, if I can say so, in the last year that they played - miraculously brilliant and plain horrid in equal parts.

What a busy the season it was, but I want to comment now how delightful the game is, and how it continues to give us the joy and keep the child in us alive.

Hearing different commentrators, journos and critics talk of technicalities of the game, in terms of pitch, angle of bat, footwork, run-up etc always enlightens a layman like me. But the one word that I am confused hearing and reading often about the game is that it is a team-game.

Is it really a team game?
To me, it always is a battle between two individuals.
Two individuals out there in the sun, fighting it out against each other and more importantly against the demons in their own mind.

The first one is the one who takes the ball in his hands, checks it out for its shape and shine, shines the side as required as he walks to his run up already thinking in his mind the various ways / ploys that he should use to bowl the ball at the other individual, reaches the end of his run up, decides in his mind on the line, length and speed he will use for this ball and starts his run up to get into the rythm required before he lands his foot exactly where required simultaneously turning his arm over, keeping his eyes on the spot where he wants the ball to land and releasing the ball using arm, elbow, wrist and fingers depending upon the type of the bowler he is, but always using his mind irrespective of the bowler he is and then bowls the ball with all his skill, may it be pace or spin or swing or action or sometimes sounds...the ball races to the other end...

The other end, where the other guy is patiently waiting, waiting with a bat firmly in his hand, waiting as he sees the bowler start his run up to the point that he bowls the ball. This batsman, all along has also calculated different ways, speeds and heights the ball will come to him and he has played different strokes to each of them in his mind. He is the one who requires more skill because he has to react. The bowler controls his action and it is upto him to complete it the way he can. But the batsman is not so lucky and he has to react to bowler's action. In a fraction. Fraction of second when the ball hits the ground before jumping on to him and in that fraction he needs to implement one of the plans that he had played in his mind while being patient. While his mind was playing the game, his hands were busy gripping the bat exactly as necessary, his eyes were focussing on the ball in bowler's hand and his feet were readying for the stance. And when the ball hits the ball, he has to think of where on the bat is the ball touching and what angle/force of the shot he should play.

And as he reacts, there is this sudden realization to both batsman and bowler that there are 11 others waiting in the same ground, wearing the same whites, playing in the same match. This contest then is extrapolated to the fielders and the rest of the team.

But essentially, it is a contest between the batsman and the bowler. Two individuals. Every individual playing his game against the other one. It is a one-to-one match, just like in boxing or chess.

And we are mere mortals who soak in the joy given by these immensely talented and gifted individuals, each playing against his own demons and for his own reasons.

Take a bow, gentlemen.

A post on Sachin Tendulkar

After a majestic and a maiden ODI double ton of Sachin, my friend Abhijit asked me to write a post on Sachin and told me that it should be my best post!

I gave it a thought and shrugged thinking all that needs to be said about the great man has already been said, all the possible adjectives have been consumed and he has been called "The God"a zillion times already. What else can I write about HIM?

Then I thought about the innings that he played on 24th Feb 2010. It was as fluent as any of his great innings with the shots flying everywhere. There was nothing different about this inning.

But then here was a man as old as me but playing on the field for over last 20 years, having endured physical and mental duress, slumps in form, surgeries on body parts, faced criticism and yet never quit. There were many others who were supposed to be as special as him if not better who quit the game long time back in their careers but this man has kept his flame for the game going. With such a determination and focus to play cricket, and the hunger for runs like a black hole in the universe, he has ensured that his body is keeping up with his mental strength.

This man has been out in the most ridiculous ways to most average bowlers in his lowest form and has answered his critics who have asked whether his time is up time and again with his bat. This man is a legend. They dont make them like him anymore. He has inspired many and united the Indians and even adversaries together. He has achieved what national leaders could not. He has scaled peaks after peaks. He has provided joy to millions the world over. And yet he remains humblest .

To me, his desire and love for cricket, his never-say-die spirit and his humility make this short man stand tallest in the world of cricket!

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - Take a bow and Thank You!

Twitter

I am more active here now: http://twitter.com/BadaBheem

Test Cricket

Ah! Does it get any better than this?

A nail-biting draw achieved by England in SA when the cricket lovers world over held their breath...Onions surviving the last over especially the caught behind appeal on the penultimate delivery...

Australia snatching a brilliant victory from the jaws of defeat against the irrepressible Pakistan... Hussey and Hauritz scripting an unlikely victory...Hauritz doing a Kumble, but for a winning cause by bowling with a bandaged finger...

Simply Superb!It just doesnt get better than this...

Give me this any day over the T20 or ODI World Cup!

India No 1 Test Side?

Updates at the bottom of the post

Yes, ICC will say tomorrow.

For me, I am not really convinced they are.

I think all the top 6 teams in international cricket are more or less of the same calibre and Aussies and SA are a notch higher simply because they have been more consistent than the other teams including India.

Here is the supporting to my argument:

1) If we were really no 1, the other batsmen after Sehwag would have tried to continue the momentum that Veeru had given and decimated the Lankans. Instead, we had the typical conservative India trying to bat with a run-rate of 2-3 with the exception being only MSD who played big hits probably because he was batting with the last man and had no other options but to hit big in order to complete his century (I am not saying he was being selfish, but it did serve both purposes)

2) Second is a more stronger argument, and that is the way Indians bowled on the day 4 of the test (today) and managed only 6 wickets with the strong Sangakkara providing a stubborn and spirited resistance(Superb!). Only 6 wickets? The number one team in the world would have definitely finished the Lankan innings today. Attack would and should have been the only thing in MSD's mind while pressing for the win. Instead we saw a mixed field settings and a patchy performance in bowling. I am not impressed.

This cannot be number 1 team in the world.

Sorry.

Update: India swiftly finished it on Day 5 in true style of a Number 1 side. That's more like it. Zak was super as he is when on a song. One hopes that they continue on the same lines and show some consistency for me to start believing that they are indeed number 1.

Virendra Sehwag

Virendra Sehwag always bats like a king...today he was an emperor! He demolished SL attack at will for the whole day to budgeon 284 NO!

With Veeru, cricket is never boring...he is always in some kind of hurry . Plays for the joy of it, nothing less and nothing more. Reminds me of Lance Klusner who played for the joy, victory or defeat can go for a walk, who cares.

Veeru keeps it simple, in his own words "I play ball by ball, throw me a bad ball, I will hit"... and we like it, oh yes we do! One cant feel sorry for the bowlers who just wait for the storm called Sehwag to pass, unable to do anything to control it. He has no qualms about the requirements, no strategic thinking, no thinking caps, no pressure of any expectations, and absolutely no nervous nineties or one hundred nineties or two hundred nineties !!!!!!!!

Yes, he is the same man who was woefully out of form a couple of years ago and who looks funny at times for lack of technique. For all the intelligence of BCCI selection committees, sense prevailed and they kept picking him despite some outcry and has he rewarded them?

Sehwag's interview which I read on cricinfo through Prem Panicker's blog was a sheer delight to read. WIll post a link over here whenever I get time.

What a man! Take a bow, Veeru! Thank you for providing us with the joy of watching cricket and for enthusing life in test cricket for when you bat, the result is bound to be there.

Image courtesy: Cricinfo

SL in India

2 tests down and 1 more to go... here are my thoughts...
Gautam Gambhir is slated to become one of the best Indian batsmen
Sehwag is a treasure to have in the team as he can set up the most improbable of victories and fail without caring a damn
Sachin still has a lot of cricket left in him
India in Tests needs Rahul Wall Dravid, VVS Laxman
Bhajji needs to be chucked out of the team NOW
Spinners Pragyan and Amit need to be given the confidence, freedom and motivation to bowl only to take wickets
Dhoni is doing well...
How the same Mendis who mesmerized Indians on SL soil can fail in India?
I think the Brabourne match is going to be tough without Gauti in Indian team....
The same old conclusion is that India always do well in Indian pitches and Indians look better cricketers when they play in India...

On the other side,

Excellent cricket happening between NZ and Pak - Superb bowling and fighting cricket
Dream Debut for the West Indian Barath who gave Aussies a wonderful Challenge

Some Dope on Doping...

The ICC wants cricketers to be checked for dope.
BCCI does not agree and stands by its players.
Players are sceptical. They say that anti-doping tests when they are playing cricket is fine, but no such tests in non-cricketing season.
The point being contested is as follows:
The new code mandates the establishment of an International Registered Testing Pool (IRTP) of players who are nominated for random testing based on their ICC rankings. Players from this pool have to inform the ICC at the beginning of every quarter (three-month period) of the year, a location and time that they will be available for an hour each day in that quarter for testing. If a player changes his/her schedule in between, then he/she needs to update the whereabouts information to the nodal officer either online or even through SMS. However, if the player is not in the location at the time specified, he/she will have a strike recorded against his name. Three such strikes and the player will have breached the code and can face up to a two-year suspension from the game.
Those in the ICC's testing pool feel that the code infringes on their privacy and personal space, especially during off-season or when they are not playing cricket. They have also raised concerns on a practical level and claim the system has a high risk of catching athletes who are simply not administratively inclined.
(Source: Cricinfo)
FIFA and players like Federer have also raised same concerns.

I think that the players should agree to this rule. There is no point in crying 'breach of privacy' and being high headed demi gods of Indian cricket when all other country players have agreed to it. While you are availing all the benefits that you get by playing ICC tournaments, you need to follow the discipline put by ICC.

Rudi cries sour grapes...

Rudi Koertzen says: “Don’t blame umpires as the players are not honest”!

Now this is an outrageous statement coming from an umpire in elite panel of ICC. What is player’s behaviour got to do with an umpire’s decision???

It is like a judge saying the next day after delivering a wrong judgment ”Don’t blame me for the judgment, you were rude in the courtroom”!!!

Hello?

Until the time the game rises above the pampered egos of umpires and hands over decision making to the technology in order to give justice to the hard work put in by the players, we will have such baseless arguments.

Down with high-headed umpires!

Bangla Create History!

A country which was just born when the Windies were ruling world cricket, took pains, insult and derogatory treatment in world cricket for years, decades only to rise and create history by beating the same Windies in test cricket and that too in West Indies !!! Lovely!
Bangla tigers, Jai Ho!

Pakistan - A Mystery!

Pakistan team, Oh Pakistan team – what art thou?

In Test no. 1, you almost defeated SL and in the second test in innings 1 , you were all out for 90! If that was a blip, you followed it up with an awesome fightback going to 285 for 1 and then unexplicably catapulting to 320 all out!!! I don’t think there is any other team in the whole world which is capable of such contrasting display in just a couple of days!
And to think of it, for god’s sake it was (and is) a batting pitch! Kumar Sangakkara’s batting average on this ground is a near 90! And then SL got the winning total of 172 within 32 overs!!!

That makes Nuwan Kulasekara a superman, doesn’t it? He was simply unplayable yesterday and Herath. Tushara bowled very well too. Pakistan all out for 90 by Sri Lanka and then again last 9 wickets in 35 runs in the second innings without Muralitharan in the team!

Add to that the enigma of a reverse sweep reversing fortunes of a match, a nation and history!!!

I think Pakistan teams will always remain the most enigmatic, charismatic and yet mystifying teams that has ever played world cricket.

Unlikely batting heroes for England!

Move over, Kevin Pieterson, Cook, Strauss and Collingwood. The new English batting heroes are here: James Anderson and Monty Panesar!

Well done, boys. Very very well done indeed! It was a great contest between the bat and the ball and made for a riveting show.

I think that instead of using North, Ponting should have thrown Hauritz along with Hilfenhaus who was clearly one of the best bowlers of the innings for Aussies, at both Monty and Anderson. But what’s happened has happened and the record books have recorded a fighting draw for England at Cardiff.

Paul Collingwood yet again stood like a rock for a long time, I think for a long time now; he has been the Man Friday of English Cricket.

This brings me to yet another important thought on test cricket. Most of the teams have great batsmen in them; very few have world class bowlers. And test matches are not won on runs, they are won on wickets. There is no rocket science here, simple fact: A team that manages 20 wickets in 5 days wins the match. So, it is the teams that have the best bowlers who will be champions and stay champions.

That is why you had WI dominating in the 80’s and then Australians in the new millennium.

Coming back to this game, I think it was an overall a super-credible fighting performance from the Brits on Day 5 at Cardiff to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.
Thank you to both teams for such exhilarating Test Cricket!

I'm Back...

All of you millions of fans out there, I am still alive and not gone the MJ way yet!
So rejoice!
OK, lot of stuff has been hapenning in the cricket world and I have followed it diligently; only could not find time to blog about the same.
So here goes:
T20 World Cup was as entertaining as it always is and threw some new heroes, thanks to IPL.
The Ashes are here as a super relief from the Mad Mad World of T20 (which is a great world too, but nothing beats Test Cricket). Bad boy Ricky hit a mangnificient 150 to close in on Sachin's records and more importantly to put the match beyond England. English attack looks depleted (as usual?)
In other news, SL have beaten Pakistan in a keen home contest that had fans like me sitting up and taking notice as Pakistan almost managed the unthinkable - beating SL in SL!!!
India manged to beat WI 2-1 in a not so just result, but was great to watch the Carribeans in action after a long time.

Keep watching this space for more analysis and criticisms and appreciations.

I have also updated my other blog linked to the right of your screen. Go read.

Terrorist attack on cricket

The horrible cowardly attack on SL cricketers was the worst day in the life of glorious game, worse than any other.
The Lankan cricketers took it on their chin saying that they are used to bombs and bullets flying around in their country.
If the terrorists truly want to fight the SL cricketers, let them throw a bowler to stop a marauding Samarweera who notched twin double centuries or throw the gun away and hold a bat against the wily Murali.
Terrorists are cowards, pityful cowards.
There is no cause that can justify attack on fellow humans and especially sportsmen.
I think Pakistan is in a state where things have got horribly out of control and no international team will visit them for any cricket. One feels sad for the immensly talented Pakistani cricketers, though and hopes that they re-locate or at least they get to visit the other nations to play for their nation or club side.
The terrorsits have fled for now, and the game of Cricket moves on....

Empire striking back?

Are the Aussies bouncing back in the Cricketing world with the Test victories over SA? (looks like the 2nd test also going Aussie way)
Certainly looks that way with the way Mitchell Johnson of all the members took it away from Proteas with the batting in 1st innings and bowling throughout the series.
Beating the Proteas in their home ground is not easy - but Aussies are doing it just the way they did it over so many years to everyone else.
Ponting's Aussies are hitting back with revenge.
And it's a pretty sight for a cricket lover.

India leads ODI Series in NZ 2-0!

This 2-0 lead over NZ in NZ has been a super performance by a truly formidable Indian side.
Sachin firing all cylinders after so long, Raina and Gambhir coming good in the scheme of team things, Sehwag just being himself, Zaheer swinging it around and Dhoi leading from the front, it looks pretty solid and good.
I, for one, definitely will give it a thumbs up after the last dismal performance in the series where the whole Indian team failed to even notch up century.
Good job guys, and I hope that this form continues till the end of ODI series which we should win. Also dont forget that the real Test is around the corner with a Test series coming up. It will be a great test of character for both bowlers and batsmen.
Time to grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy!

Who needs Cheergirls...

When we have Fidel Edwards?
Test Cricket simply rocks!!!

It's all hapenning!

In the times of recession, the game of cricket continues to provide Unadulterated Joy!
While IPL continues to hog the headlines with mind boggling figures that the Indian corporates and Bollywood biggies shell out to buy out known and unknown cricket talent worldwide, the game itself has been superbly keeping the fans rivetted!

Dhoni & Co have proved all pessimistic naysayers (like me) wrong and went ahead to create history in Sri Lanka by beating the Lankans on all fronts and extending the winning streak to 9 matches in a row already! Indian fans have never had it so good for so long!
Lage Raho Dhonibhai! Nothing succeeds like success! And Dhoni has led from the front with some super support from his team!

The Windies, meanwhile, have completely and ruthelessly demolished Englishmen in thesecond innings with some amazing bowling figures and went one up in the test series! That is test cricket at its best!

The South Africa have toppled the Australians by some amazing cricket down under and the Kiwis continue their good work by leading the aussies 2-0 already! Smith and Co, take a bow!

Ponting asked to rest, Sachin not firing (fans crying loud against LBW decisions), Mortaza picked up at super price by SRK, Jerome Taylor and Duminy firing all cylinders, Pieterson and Flintoff getting richer than Dhoni, Gambhir finally arriving on the world scene, Zaheer back to his best, Jayasuriya continuing to dazzle the world, Mendis flopping, its all happenning here in the world of cricket!

Bring it on, I say!