What Losing the urn means

England lost the urn, period. The urn returns to Australia after an interval of almost 4 and half years. You could see the tearful eyes of Mitchell Johnson, the joy of Michael Clarke and the whole Aussie team and it will not take an Einstein to infer what winning or losing the Ashes means for both these teams.

At WACA, Both Cook and Clarke were playing their 100th test matches for their respective teams. While Cook is patient, calm and believes in grinding the opposition down, Clarke has different methods. He believes in aggression, creating pressure , reading their opposition. England chose this surface for their final punch, still unbelievable to me. England were completely outplayed here too like the other two. Similar stuff, Australia winning the toss and batting. England got rid of top order and once again lower middle order stretched Australia to something to bowl at. England first innings collapse  has become as common in this series. Once again, they conceded a big first innings lead. Finally, in third innings, it was warner and watson show. Both made hundreds. Bailey too joined the party hitting 28 in jimmy over adding woes to England wounds. After that, it was just a matter of time when the moustache man Johnson and co. took over them.
Ben Stokes  showed how to bat on this pitch with giant cracks. It was probably as good innings as an England no. 6 for a long time. They kept fighting in the second innings. They toughed, ducked and made Australians earn the wickets. Balls barely missed the outside edges. Catches almost carried. Mis-hits dangled in the air. Late swings generated noise from the fielders. The men who beat India in india, a feat difficult to achieve even for the angels, were struggling. The players, who could change a test match in a session were fighting to avoid a series loss. The best men, trying their hardest, fought as hard as they could. England still lost. I could not have been sadder.

Now coming to the main thing: Losing the urn. I don't imagine a happier moment in test cricket than being an English or Australian and winning the urn. It means the world to me. Winning it is like protecting the best goddamn thing you loved whole life while losing it is exactly the opposite. You just let it slip away from your hands and gave it to someone else who currently deserves it more than you do. It is like your loved one just betrayed you just because you aren't fit enough.

When Ashes started in earlier century, it symbolized the heritage and competition between these two great nations, who gave cricket to the world. The bails were burnt and the ash was put, hence the name Ashes. Since then, it has been wandering from one of them to other. Bringing it back leads to honor, adds flavor to your resume while losing it stains it.  It will haunt you during sleeps. You will keep on looking on the score board and the whole scene will move around your eyes in a flash how you just let it slip away. Winning it leads to getting congratulations from the prime minister, queen in case of England, cricket geeks, legends while losing it will just make you restless and wonder If only we could reverse it.

Me, being an England fan knows its value. Looking at the sad faces of Cook, Kevin, Jimmy, Stuart tell everything. How much painful it was for the cook to face the presentation party, I do understand that. There was a crying voice. He demanded more from his team, plain and simple, that's all. Now, England must live without the urn until the next ashes. With England not having too old players, it is likely that the core of the team will remain the same for the next few years. They must remember this and come back harder and stronger next time. At least, this is what I am praying.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all of you. 

Explaining James Anderson

Trent Bridge hero of last Ashes test, 2012: James Anderson. Since then He has been bowling, bowling and bowling. He has given his all to this English team. For the last 3 years, He has been playing non-stop cricket. Always willing to give his 100 percent in the field, What has happened to this man now?

Last Ashes in Trent Bridge, In second innings for some seconds, I was haunted by the idea that Brad Haddin will win Australia this game on his own. Suddenly, Cook brings his best man in when Australia were 15 short of the target and He does incredibly well by taking the wicket of Haddin and won the game. It was his tenth wicket of the match. He beat Australia on his own. Since then, He has undergone a slide of form. He averages 47 since then.

Last night, I kept thinking about the possible reasons How on a sudden, Australia learnt to play him so well. He is a supreme mover of the cricket ball. His seam position, wrist movement are just too good. Sometimes, He can bowl as good as it is possible in cricket. He can bowl where he wants to bowl. He can make the batsman dance to his tune on his best. He has outsmarted the god of cricket 9 times in the test cricket. He is just a clinic of swing bowling.

Physically, He has not got any advantage over any fast bowler. He has not got a height of some 80 inches which helps him to get some extra bounce. He has not got a huge shoulder or big body. His action is not some slinging arm. He has to fight his way back, do a lot of hard work to get batsmen out. But, Despite all odds, he did learn some of the best fast bowling tricks the world will ever witness. He has outswingers of world class to take him to the top. He does have some pace, But class batsmen will always find a way against you if you just have some raw pace. Pace is devastating only when you scare all with that. Unfortunately, Anderson does not have even this. He has just worked harder and harder to reach there.

Facing him in England is like a nightmare for most of the human beings of this planet. England climate certainly helps swing bowlers and Anderson rightly takes advantage of that. Also he has got some apt partners to bowl with like Stuart broad, Steven Finn, Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan etc. He proved himself in the subcontinent wickets too where the ball doesn't swing much Just on the basis of pure skill. He believes in learning as much as he can. That's why he is so successful. He helped England win in India after trailing by 0-1. I still remember the ball on which he got Sehwag on first ball duck in Nagpur. He helped England gaining the top spot in test rankings.

When Anderson bowls with perfect seam position, I can't imagine any better sight than that in cricket. It is so natural and text book style that you will want to watch it so many times. He is perfect for flat pitches and against boring batsmen. He learnt the art of reverse swing to get edges with old balls. He knows what the batsman might be thinking. He does have a lot of variations in his bowling. He certainly is no more just a swinging new ball bowler like the other young guns.

Some months ago, I read from somewhere that Anderson has been rated as the most skillful bowler on earth. Even I think the same. But what intrigues me at present that why on earth his current form against Australia is wobbling. Is it too much cricket, Is he tired or Have Aussies found a way against him? He used to win England test matches with just one spell. But what has happened now. He still averages approximately 30 in test cricket, which is too much considering the high standards of him. He is second highest wicket taker for England in test cricket just behind Sir Ian Botham. Given his current age is just 31, He probably will end up with a bag of 500 test wickets. His determination, discipline has brought him so far.

He has been one of my personal favourite bowlers. There is something special about him, isn't it? 

To Dearest Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

October 10, 2013. You announced retirement from test cricket. For a person like me, who grew up watching you bat for the last 20 years of my life, this is like sticking in time with you. I just can't describe how I felt when I heard about your decision to retire. I just felt weak as if I have lost everything I had. Almost  2/3rd of  our country'
s population have no idea of cricket  which doesn't involve you. I grew up falling in love with you and cricket. Your name is just a synonym for  greatness. Your success or failures were attached to my heart. No matter, how you played the only thing which remained consistently on my  wishlist was to watch you  even more. I picked various debates with my friends when they spoke anything ill about you. You are greater than stats show about you. You won billions of hearts  across the world. Watching you bat was moment of perfection, happiness, and undescribable joy for me.

Last night, I got scared thinking about the situation that will happen when India play test matches next year and 2nd wicket will fall. That will be one of the most nightmare situations I can imagine. Not being able to watch you in the middle of the ground. Unnatural silence will prevail. Players come and go, but someone like you  come once in a lifetime. Playing consistently for almost quarter of a century: I don't know how to describe this. You have been a true ambassador of cricket. The  smile, joy and humiliation which you brought on ground were some hundred thousand times greater than your achievements. I want to thank you the  countless happy  memories you provided to me. You have been an integral part of my life. In this ever changing world, you have been a real constant.

When you went out to bat, the whole world stood still. I often bunked school to watch you bat. I prayed all the way up for you success. Since my childhood days, I used  to wake up on India's matches day and the only wish I used to have that day was may you make a century today. You were such a genius, dedicated, disciplined and  determined human being. I am supremely confident that It will take centuries for the world to find someone like you. You showed me the importance of discipline and  sincerity.  You  taught me not to give up, how to be focussed, how to compete in the world, how to work hard etc. You have been a life changer for me in all possible  good ways.  You have been a true role model for all the youngsters all across the world. I think I was just too lucky to have witnessed you and your batting and it  saddens me a lot that next generation won't. They may know you through books, videos, pictures, statistics etc. But, they won't be able to have the first hand  experience as We did. You have been a superhero of my times. You may retire from the sports, but never from our hearts.

I don't want to enumerate all my favourite moments of you and best innings of you as they are countless and all of them were just extraordinary. You were the most  perfect batsman. You are much more than cricket. You traverse all souls. The world will not be able to forget you. When you went out to bat people switched on the  television sets and switched off their lives. You made me take the radio set to school on the days India had cricket matches. I used to get anxious on every ball you  faced. My ears just grew more powerful doing that. When you used to get out, It looked like the world ended. Watchig you gave aesthetic pleasure. You were One of those  players whom even my late grandmom used to recognize. You are a real gem. Cricket will mourn your loss, ever. I want to thank God and my mom for making me contemporary  to you.

I just can't describe everything you gave to me, because there are no words available for them.
In short, you gave me the world.

With love, respect and admiration.

-- From a Cricket fan.

To Ian Bell

There was definitely a time when I thought England must give Ian Bell a long break before handing him the test cap of England again. I used to see a nervous Ian Bell, who used to crumble under pressure. I used to think of him who can get out on any ball before I even knew it. He was "The one" who could miss a straighter one to get bowled. Ian Bell had a massive lapse of concentration that used to cause a stupid mistake by him.

But, Let me drag you to present. This new Ian Bell is something else, isn't he? He is looking technically sound, impregnable, incredible, unbelievable. Words can't justify the value of his runs scored by him. No matter, who he is playing against, when he is in great touch, which he usually is in, nothing can penetrate him. In modern cricket, very few players can make the ball look like it has been bowled in slow motion. Bell is one of them. He is like a cricket textbook. Watching him bat is moment of perfection, happiness. It gives an aesthetic pleasure to me.

Before coming to This ashes, he was in a form slide. Both India and New Zealand were unkind to him. He was struggling to make a place in this batting unit. He was fourth or fifth name which came to our mind thinking about England's batting. But, now he is looking as if the Avengers would come to bell, they would be the one who lose. He is looking supernatural, extraordinary. Practically, anything bowled outside the off stump, he can carve that to third man. He can play the ball late than you spend the time between your naps. He may feel problems against Ajmal's doosra, but at least Aussies do not have them to bother him.

Ian Bell has not suddenly changed. He is just using his skills which he always had. Just a bit more concentrated and showing more temperament. He has given England the Ashes 2013. Almost every innings played by him in this series has been chanceless, pretty and elegant. If we are not noticing the grinding done by him in these years, then something is wrong with our heads. He is looking better. Something has changed. He now seems to have got it. This series, All of Cook, Trott, Kevin etc. have been careless and distracted. None of them has been in full form. Had it not been Bell, England would have been struggling to contain the ashes.

Apart from cricket, Ian bell has been outstanding  outside cricket. He doesn't involve in sledging. He has not got some girlfriend which cover the headlines of newspapers. He is not fined for misbehaviour. He doesn't abuse teammates. He is not a rockstar. He doesn't go to reality shows and make himself popular. He doesn't tweet much. There is only one thing he does well: bat and bat well when the country needs it.

As the law of truism goes, nothing can go on forever. But, Bell still aged 31, has got enough time to make these rest of the moments memorable. When he is at his best, It is impossible to understand how he can ever get out. He is prettier than we have ever anticipated him. If you have watched him bat, you are really a lucky human being.

Twenty test hundreds, averages 47, Bell, you are prettier than these numbers.

Beauty of Test Cricket

Cricket is such a beautiful game, isn't it? The game has a special place for test matches. Most people do give test matches a hashtag of #boring. Yeah, I admit sometimes it is colourless and odourless, but so is water. But, Can you live without it? Isn't the sight of test cricket really lovely? For me, It's really hard not getting romantic watching Test cricket.

Cricket, unlike most games is an art, a pure art. You can't judge art in 180 minutes of assault. After all, it's a gentleman's game. Certainly, There comes moments of dullness in some phases of it, but all to make the art even more pretty. It's so pleasant to watch the batsmen waiting for bad deliveries, bowlers trying consistently for the batsmen to make mistakes. It requires patience, perseverence, temperament, just ideal to convert one into an ideal cricketer.

There have been some epic test series in last decade. Who can forget 2001 Test Series between India-Australia, followed by Ashes-2005? Aren't They enough to justify the beauty of Test cricket? The beauty of reverse swing with the old ball, the calculated risk taken in carving the ball to third man boundary, a gentle backfoot punch etc. all seem so pure to me. I can watch that whole life without getting tired. Test cricket produces legends. It is so easy to befool ourselves in the glamour of Twenty-20 powered by cheerleaders, A Pseudo package of complete entertainment, but like I said earlier, The True art is always missing.

I am worried by recent changes in the attitude of ICC regarding minimum tests compulsory for each test team. ICC has bellowed minimum of 16 tests in 4 years. Doing simple division tells you that you need to play a minimum of just 4 tests in 12 months. Isn't the figure too little? ICC surely has taken a ridiculous decision. Test cricket is real heritage of cricket. We need to protect it, embrace it by playing more and more of it, not the other way around.

I Personally believe that There has been lack of quality contests in test cricket in recent years. Very few series have been a nail-biter.But, The Respective boards and players need to be blamed for setting up of these. How can they make Test cricket pay for this? ICC needs to be laughed at for this. If these things continue, I am really worried that we may leave nothing of test cricket to tell our children.

I am praying that the coming test series: Back-to-back Ashes, India-South Africa etc. Produce some phenomenal display and force ICC to rethink its irrational decision. After all, Art matters.

Thanks.

The Pain of England Cricket Team

Final Moment: And here is R. Ashwin to James Tredwell, England need 6 runs to win the first major ICC trophy in 50 over format in almost 4 decades. Here he goes. James Tredwell Swings and misses and This champions trophy, 13 maybe the last ever,  belongs to this young Indian Team.

That look on Cook's face, I almost snapped inside my mind forever. The bloody pain of defeat. He looked for reasons of defeat. He really needed some consolation.With 20 needed off 16 deliveries, and having morgan and Bopara as set batsmen on crease, the game was of England to lose and indeed they did that in remarkable fashion. The downfall was started with slower ball of Ishant, who was having his worst game of this tournament. Did Morgan really needed to play that suicidal shot? Next ball, Ravi holed it to midwicket. He stood at the wicket complaining about the height of the ball for a second or two. Buttler got the first ball in his zone, went for the slog and missed it by a fair distance. Bresnan slipped in the middle after surviving from an LBW call, only to watch himself getting helplessly runout. Broad was now in. He played first ball to covers. There was no run there even in the cricket of disabled. He ran anyway. He dived only to see that Sir Jadeja had not taken off the bails. Now was the turn of Tredwell. He will be the least favourite man in whole England to bat in this situation. Yet, He was on strike. He almost got himself run out attempting each run he added.

Last over needed 15. Not Undoable. but against the bowler whose figures till that over was 3-1-6-2, it was really some superhuman effort needed by those two. And, not to forget, there was stuart Broad on the crease: He was born for such wonders. Broad swang his hands as hard as he could but could n't connect. Third Umpire again used a random number generator this time to save him unlike Poor Bell. Next ball, He swept it for four only to remind me: This is not yet over. Next ball, He took a goddamn single and now the load was on the weak shoulders of Tredwell to see England Home. I got to feel for him. Against Ashwin 10 off 3 on that turner was one of the unlikeliest thing imaginable . Yet, He gave his best shot, took two 2's to bring it to last ball. Poor Tredwell needed a 6 off the bowler having figures 3.5-1-15-2. He gave his all to avoid the embarrassment England was lurking at for the last 15 minutes. Winning their first major trophy in 50 over format. Loss in ICC finals: Not the fifth time. The odds of success were negligible: and that's what exactly happened and finally I learnt why they kept Probability in curriculum.

Was it destined to end like this? There were million other ways in which the game could have proceeded. They were supposed to chase 130 on any day. England may do the whatifs enumerable number of times from here. But, There is no U-turn here. That's the way life is. That's how the world works.

All this was only to prolong the wait of the England.

Thanks

Beauty Of Watchinig Pace Bowling

Sometimes I am forced to rethink why do I  watch cricket so closely. Forget everything. Just watch. Fast bowlers can make you cling to the chair. They are really intimidating, aren't they? I am providing you all with a number of reasons.

Let us start with the bowling run-up. It is a unique thing in cricket, which separates it from other games like baseball. In athletics, there are triple jump, hurdle race, long jump etc. but nothing matches the run-up of fast bowlers in cricket. Specially, pace bowlers have such a eye-catching run-up. For a bowler, nothing is more valuable than the final leap which he takes while delivering the ball. The batsman seems to be a slave. The bowler seems to be on the top of the universe. With different pace bowlers, the run up leaves different impressions. There are various categories of bowling run-ups too. Take wasim akram, waqar younis, shoaib akhtar: the three legends of pakistan era, all having different actions and run-ups used to vary. I used to get a high urge to bowl watching them doing the same.

Whoever says he is not frightened by enormous pace probably lies. Imagine yourself getting to play 95mph balls. Perhaps given a chance to walk into fire or playing them, you  will take a long time to decide. It's just so dreadful. If there is something more beautiful and elegant than watching the stumps knocked away by pace power, I honestly don't want to know about it. They can ruffle anyone, even the best batsmen of the generation. Can Something really match watching the fear in the eyes of the batsmen? There is no alternative to the beauty to speed.

There are no truer hard workers than fast bowlers in any format of cricket. They are expected to be 100 percent fit. The captain expects initial breakthroughs from them. They are made to bowl in the powerplays and yet expected to have low economy rate then the slower bowlers. Also, the changes in the rules of cricket in recent years have also caused a lot of disadvantages to them. The pitches all across the world are being made lifeless and flat. Everyone thinks about the batsmen. The crowd loves fours-sixes. Hardly anyone wants fast bowlers to succeed.

I, personally have always felt then Cricket is a game of reaction time. And there is no better evidence than watching pace bowlers taking the wickets. They go inside the reaction time, and earn those wickets. No other thing can come even miles closer to that.They challenge the decision taking abilities of the batsmen and often succeed too.

And, lastly I would like to tell I am big fan of the best pacers of my era: Del Steyn, James Anderson,Brett Lee, Shoaib Akhtar, Mitchell Johnson, Shane Bond, Umar Gul, Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga and many more.

Thanks

Stuart Broad : An introduction

Who is Stuart Broad? Any guesses? Probably you know him for many reasons. Me too.

But, Stuart Broad bombarded some deliveries in the Lord's test to the New Zealand, which they will remember for a long long time. It sort of appeared as if some ameteurs have come to face a demon. Broad comes closer to Sachin, Afridi in terms of tweets mentioning him. Anyone would like to meet such character. In this blog, I would like to bring forward whether He is a good or bad cricketer.

He wins test, ODI, T20 games for England unlike most cricketers and humans. He is a game changer. He just does not do it well, he just does it extraordinarily well. That is the thing which puts him differently from other cricketers. But, Wait one sec. His bowling average and batting average does not reflect it. His bowling average in tests in 31 which does not look extraordinary. He just looks an average bowler by stats, doesn't he? He averages 25 with bat after more than 50 tests. Isn't it ordinary for a batsman playing at places like 7 or 8. He has scored hundred too. And that was against one of the best attacks : likes of Pakistani pace attack and that too when the team was in crisis.

But, what completely is beyond my understanding how He either delivers it completely or nothing at all. He can't finish a game against Netherlands in T20 world cup.He is hit for six sixes in an over. He is wicketless in first two tests against India. He fails against South Africa badly.

And then He takes hattrick to give England No. 1 test spot. He destroys South Africa next time they meet.He takes 7 for 44 against New Zealand in a chase of 239 which was actually gettable.

It is just a short description of Stuart Broad's career.He either destroys the opponent or gets destroyed by them. There is hardly any time spent by him in middle.He gets more abuse than his other team mates. and yet they love him for the magical moments he gives to them. His blondle hair irritates sometimes and sometimes it suddenly becomes attractive. ( By the way I have always like Blonde cheerleaders )

I am often got envious of numerous  girlfriends he has got despite this. They are often crazy for him.

I would like to ask Stuart, why he does not do it consistently. I know it's kinda difficult as very few humans from 1877 have been able to do it.  He is just 26 now and a lot of cricket is left in him. He is currently England's T20 Captain. But, I just want him to narrow down the gap between the best and the worst. He should try to bring his averages closer to better. I just want him to be MVP of England's National team not the one who is criticised.

thank you

Beautiful words for handsome game

Have you ever noticed that there is some kinda lyrics involved in game of cricket? I am sure you must have. The literature of cricket is really really rich.Cricket inspires more good writing than, arguably, any other sport.Cricket invites lyricism, though this is perhaps rarer today, when batsmen go to the middle almost as heavily armoured as medieval knights.It’s partly the pace and rhythms of cricket that invite good writing.There is always a sense of humor involved in the game. My friends tell me football, baseball etc has a fine literature too. Perhaps it has.
But, The sheer beauty of cricket will always be missing.

Once my brother was playing baseball on playstation in my own home. I was in other room doing some other work. Suddenly he shouted, " Bhaiya I have hit it all the way. I thought  for some moment it was cricket. Then I noticed that it was not. I was kinda angry with him that he used  words describing cricket. Then The next ball he  was caught like in cricket. I kinda felt ironical. The mode of dismissal was exactly similar to that of cricket.

I am having summer vacation after a long exhausting session of studies in our college. Now, I am enjoying  my free time with cricket. Sometimes during sleep time, I think The only thing which I have not yet  explored on this planet is cricket. There is a lot more than visible in this. Everyone is  a learner. I am learning too. Sometimes I miss some of the players  who left this game and my eyes almost get wet. Sir Don! I am so unfortunate not to be able to watch him play. I  wish If I were born contemporary to him. But, God must have thought something before he created us. Maybe He wants me to miss him like this and remember him like that.

 Let me tell you I can write whole day on this and still a lot will be left. So, let me put my pen down here.

 Thanks

Sweet Memories Of Cricket

For the last seven-eight days, IPL has been knocking on my door. Every night, before going to bed, I have watched the super exciting games of cricket.This part of the life, which I have been obsessed over in the life, deals with a feeling difficult to put down with keystrokes.

Cricket is not everything. It is more than everything. It's life. Life may betray you. Life may confuse you. But, cricket is always there stretching its arms and waiting for you. It's unambiguous, unadulterated,better than hot movies you use to watch when you are alone. There is always a simple outcome: Either win or loss. There is always a "what if " analysis in life. For me, the only place where Things make sense is cricket. In life, you never know when Your girlfriend will dump you, when your best friend will betray you, when you will get a job,internships, when will your best thing get lost and so on. But, see cricket is easy, like food. You just need to have it and energy will follow. Beyond Gender, Caste, religion, region, violence, at eternity.

Life has always been a great grandmother of all heartbreaks in my life. Personally I have been a big failure in my life. But, I have always faced it bravely with cricket in me. There is always something to learn from every game, every moment. Just try to search and most often you will find it.

What is unique in cricket is It clubs together the pain of defeat, the joy of being victorious, the heart-stopping ties, Super Over excitement with a million of possiblities and finally leading you to infinity of thoughts.It makes the mind beautiful.  You can be flown so easily. It's like falling in love each time you watch it. I do fall. When stumps are shattered, when it is a near miss, Those moments cann't be replicated. It is like you have got everything.

And If you feel mesmerized after reading this, then IPL 6 is out there waiting for you. Enjoy!!!

Where we lost the rivalry between India and Aussies?

One of the biggest news in the Indo-Aussies series was this:Shane Watson, Usman Khawaja, James Pattinson and Mitchell Johnson are suspended for failing to do their homework. But, for me this is not the only problem Border-Gavaskar series suffers with. There is one more serious and terrible error here.

Gone are those days when the characters from India and Australia used to show the onfield rivalry and the contests used to be the best You could ever imagine. The Border-Gavaskar  series had started with the aim as both Countries used to be invincible at home. With Australia struggling to continue to maintain their winning streak in India. There was India everywhere  at home.

Also, not to forget , it was the characters who used to make the series alive. Shane Warne and Glenn Mcgrath against Sachin Tendulkar, Steve Waugh against Saurav Ganguly etc. used to make the contest a scene of total romance and pleasure.( in cricketing sense )

On the other hand, the ongoing series is nothing as exciting as it used to be a few years ago. Aussies have struggled so far and with the scoreline of 3-0 , they have to play in Delhi for pride only. They could neither show the skill nor determination to learn from their mistakes which England did quite superbly which handed them the series. The current bowling attack of Aussies is one of the worst on their part which i have ever seen. I know that talking from internet blog and performing on field are quite different things, but still The aussies which I  have always known since my childhood used to be far better learner than this. Australia looked like without any game plan throughout the series.

From my side, I am a person who have grown up watching test cricket and certainly will watch  hundreds of tests more in this lifetime, this is rather disappointing.I used to bunk other important stuffs to watch the Indo-Aussies contest when i was a kid. But, sadly the mouth-watering contests are dying slowly and it hurts me a lot to write this. Today, the game has become pretty predictable and even if while I am in classes, i can tell exactly what would have been happening there in the test match. I just want both teams to bring back the rivalry back and provide us some really good stuff. But, I am worried that this may not happen at all.

I hope you all agree with me in this.
Thank you

Is this the era of South Africa?

The top spot in test rankings has been a hot spot after the great australians retired in later part of 2009.India, aided by its improved bowling attack, to go with a murderous batting line up and array of home Tests, managed to get there in November 2009 and managed to stay afloat for 18 months. I, being an indian was too happy by this feat itself.The English Summer of 2011 thoroughly exposed India, and following their whitewash at the hands of the hosts, Team England got to the top seat. In comparison to the Indian side, they had quite a better squad.Exactly a year after its ascent, England side lost the top spot to the South African side, which has been atop since then. However, unlike the Indian and English teams, this South African side looks set for a longer ride at the top. I will give you the reasons.

Despite having a team capable of gunning down any opposition, they always faltered at the last step and earned the tag of “Chokers”. The trend is continuing still in the limited overs tournaments conducted by ICC. The Test side, however, looks a different story.Gary Kirsten came with a tag of giving india on rank 1 status in test cricket. His home team waited for him to return back and he was snapped up as the head coach immediately. What became India’s loss was South Africa’s gain.Their batting in the last few years had a settled look even though one or two spots are still experimented.Smith, Alviro have added flair at the top. Their middle order of Amla, Kallis and De Villers could challenge any all-time best middle order batsmen, and that added to their strength.The major advantage for the current South African side is the strength of the lower middle order. Faf de Plessis made a dream start to his career and has been a handy all-rounder.In Peterson, they have a spinner who is much better than their previous recruit – Harris. He is able to provide some kind of support to the pace battery rather than being just a fill in bowler when their pacers need rest. And with the bat, he is as good as any bowling all-rounder. And then Philander is a decent lower order bat too.


And finally, the pace attack. Since the last few series, the opposition has been forced to get out before 50 runs which adds so much humiliation for any team.Steyn is indeed the best pace bowler in the circuit currently, and could swing the ball at a menacing pace of 150 kmph. His partner Philander is an artist with gentle pace while Morkel's  bouncers in a quick ball could unsettle any of the best batsmen, and he wonderfully compliments the wicket takers in Steyn and Philander.

Any side will face problems when their regular players are injured. The replacements usually are not as good as the regular ones. But it is here that the current South Africa side looks ominous. Duminy, Tsotsobe, Merchant De Lange , Klienveldt, Abott are better than just replacements anyways. The depth of the side, wealth of backup players, and a top class set-up has all made this side look invincible.

Let us hope that The proteas will remain dominant in a few years to come.

Thanks

Middle overs in ODI

I just can't understand why there are a very few people interested in watching middle overs of an ODI game. It's a matter of fact that most of them don't like ODI cricket at all. Some of them like tests and t20’s, some of them just like tests, and some of them don’t really like cricket at all, they just like how many stories there are in a cricket match. I hear people saying things like “there’s those horrible overs between over 10 and over 40” and “it’s dreadful, killing the game.” Both of these sentiments make me wonder if they actually like cricket at all.  Because for me the middle overs of an ODI are almost as pure as cricket gets. Let me explain why is it so?

Cricket is more than a simple bat and ball game that involves hitting a ball as far as you can. These are a few things which make it better than baseball, handball, or other similar games. Cricket is a game of risk vs good decisions. Some batsmen are able to maintain a strike rate of 200.0, the problem is that when they try it, it becomes risky. They tend to get out more quickly. They try to keep a tradeoff between the scoring rate and risk. So, instead of trying to hit the ball over the inner circle, they try to hit it past along the ground. Instead of trying to hit the ball over the cover aread, they hit it to third man for a single or leave the ball to go to wicketkeeper.

A defensive shot is pure foolishness in baseball, it’s abused ,but it has merit in cricket. Even the most attacking players have a balance between attack and defence.A spin bowler is more likely to take wickets with a slow, flighted delivery, that's full enough to bring a batsman forward, but short enough to turn. But that has a risk involved that the batsman may come out of crease and hit him over long-off or long-on.A captain has a lot of options when it comes to setting a field, even within the ODI rules about field placement. The art to setting a defensive field is often damage limitation. The most heart-breaking runs are those which are given easily in the cricket.

This balance, and battle of wits between batsman and fielders is most on display during the middle overs of an ODI. When watching this period I ask myself what the plan is to try and get a wicket without taking a risk. What is the shot that the captain is letting the batsman have, and what’s the risk for him in that?  These are the questions that make the middle overs enjoyable.Sure there are less fours, sixes and wickets.  However there is still the battle of wits.  I’m not sure what the attraction is in watching big hit after big hit.  I prefer the balance between the mental and physical battle that only cricket really provides.  And, for me, there’s nowhere better for that than the “boring middle overs.”

I hope you agree with me in this.

Will miss you "Mr. Cricket"

Another one goes. This time again, loss is not limited to a country but to the entire cricket as One of the most consistent batsman of my era has decided to hang his boots.

I don't know whether There will be any replacement of Mike Hussey in world cricket or not. But, I can assure you Getting as successful as Hussey was will be an extremely difficult for this young cricket generation. Hussey was made to prove himself too many times before he arrived the door of International cricket at the age of 30. He played 11 first-class seasons and scored more than 15,000 runs before being selected for his first Test. But, once he came, he never looked back. Just 7 years of career and 12th highest run getter for Australia of all times with a terrific batting average of 51, including 19 centuries tells the whole story. He steadied Australian innings all the time during that period and uncountably many times pulled them out of trouble.

In my opinion, he is even harder to get replaced than Ricky, as he saw the Australian transition from world champs to "can be defeated" type of team. Unlike Ponting, who endured a string of poor performances before calling it quits, Hussey has averaged 79 this summer, including three centuries, which is ample to show that he is leaving this great game by being on top. He was really a mixture of efficiency, excellence, adaptability, modesty, passion, team man and many more.

I will definitely miss him and so will the world. He was a sole representation of baggy green cap. He always did everything what was needed most urgently at that time. He was a sort of person who always wore the Australian cap with utmost pride, everytime he went to field.

And In Hussey words, when he was asked what does he feel about retirement and how he wants the world to remember him. Hussey said: “As someone who loved the game, who was a team man. Someone who was passionate about the game, prepared very well and gave his all for his country.”

He was a great ambassador of this game in all formats. None can forget his cheer ups and smiling face on field.Hats off to legend and May God send some more Husseys for the upliftment of the game. He will always be one of my favorite players of all time! Again, thanks for being a really wonderful player, and a great human being.