My Views Over Mankading

Last week Ashwin mankaded Joss Buttler in an IPL game. Without a warning. Even stopping for a non-reasonable amount of time in his delivery stride so that Buttler's natural momentum took him outside the crease. This divided the whole cricketing world into two halves. Some of them called it "disgraceful", "unsportsmanlike", "unfair" whereas some of them termed it as "well within his rights", "spirit is no substitute for the laws" and so on.

My personal take on this: Initially, I was very very annoyed, gutted, and fuming over R. Ashwin's actions. Multiple reasons behind this: First, I never liked Ashwin much as a cricketer. Second, I have always liked Joss Buttler. Third, I like Rajasthan Royals in general too and I wanted them to have a good start to their IPL campaign. Fourth, Rajasthan Royals lost the game eventually because of this mankading.

I even posted some angry tweets and pictures of castigating R. Ashwin over social media depicting how much I despised his actions.

But, as time went on and I thought a lot about it during sleep and other free times, I realised that I was being naive. It was Joss who was at fault like so many other batsmen who have been mankaded in the past. If you don't want smoke, don't light the fire. If you don't want to be mankaded, just stand your ground behind popping crease till the ball is delivered. It is as simple as that. The non-strike batsmen give excuse that now-a-days balls are hit back so hard in their direction they won't get time to react or get out of the way if they first follow the bowler's hand and then the other end. To that, I say that is not good enough excuse. Batsmen are having full protection and they have to start putting heavier prices on their wickets. They can't expect bowlers to be generous anymore. Remember, now-a-days after every dismissal bowlers are checked for no-balls and there is no margin for them. Not even a single centimetres. If they can live with it, batsmen better learn it as well.

Now-a-days, cricket has grown multiple folds. It is no longer the great gentleman's game which used to be played only during free times by the higher society people of England. The game has reached different corners and societies of the world. Cricketers are under tremendous pressure to deliver. They get million of bucks to entertain us and with every ball, there is so much at stake. Victory and losses often decide the paths your career will take. Is it so surprising and wrong to see R. Ashwin do what he did considering the circumstances? Remember: He is the captain of Kings XI Punjab and last year, they couldn't qualify for the play-offs despite being table toppers for most of the season. The director of their cricket, Virender Sehwag was let go and so many coaching staff changes happened. They have the second worst record among all IPL teams (after Delhi Daredevils maybe). They must be feeling the heat. Loss in opening game wouldn't have done them much favours.

The custodians of our game, MCC who made the original laws of cricket called the dismissal within the rules. Though, after further scrutiny, one day later they deemed the extra-long pause taken by Ashwin before the delivery "not-in-the-spirit-of-the-game". I have huge amount of respect for MCC and if they think the dismissal was legal, then who am I to question it? I agree with them whole-heartedly. Personally, I would never have done it. But, I still feel Ashwin did what he did was right thing to do. If I were Ashwin, I would have given Joss Buttler a fair warning and that warning would have been applicable for all the other batters of his side too.

Just one warning, that's all. If they try to take advantage after that, all bets are off.

What really worries me despite being able to understand why this happened is: Where do we draw the line at all? What if it becomes a tactic to get rid of premier batsman of the opposition side? How far we are away from mankading being discussed in the dressing room and among the coach-captain conversation? If that happens, that would be a real sad day for those who love and worship the game.

We will see this so called "mankading" dismissal a lot in coming years and I have a feeling that I will make peace with it eventually. It is here to stay. Similar to other sports, cricket will very soon become a game of "win at all costs", no doubt about that. I guess, that is evolution.

How England valiantly fought to avoid winning the series?

England isn't bad. They just seem lost sometimes. Lost as a 5-year old kid on an airport unable to find his parents. They went to the Carribean and cricket pundits licked their lips while uttering that West Indies will fail to win a single game in both tests as well as ODI series.

Both series are over. West Indies didn't lose either of the series.

Let's deal with test series first. England is known to cuddle the opponents, putting overthinking in the selection and giving too much weight to conventional methods. And when they do go unorthodox, they favor gut instincts over cold, hard facts. Don't get me wrong. I love Sam Curran as much as his parents do, but since he bats at number 8 or lower and he only has 15 wickets in 9 tests, there was absolutely no logic in picking him over the veteran Broad (who has more than 28 times the number of test wickets as Sam.)

England didn't lose because of Sam Curran blunder. A couple of less Roach and Holder in West Indies would have helped though. In the first test, Holder absolutely made a mockery of England bowling lineup en route to his first double hundred. Though when you get bowled out for 77, you know you are in ...

Second test: Common sense restored. Broad was brought back, but not at the expense of Curran. England just often seems too greedy to get lower order contributions that they forget to pick proper bowlers to pick 20 wickets. Darren Bravo sucked the hope out of England's bowling and England batters did the rest. They fought valiantly hard in both the test matches to not convert any fifty into 100 or daddy ones.

The third test was a restoration of pride. Jason Holder was banned for slow over rate, which was as ridiculous decision from ICC as failing to provide a satisfactory format for the World Cup. I would have recommended banning England cricket team from the third test for their dim-witted batting in the first two tests. Anyway, moving on...

ODI series began. New faces. New England (as they choose to call themselves after the debacle of 2015 world cup) was on the island. No scars of test series defeat. Number 1 team in the world by a country mile. They haven't lost in their last 10 ODI bilateral series. They hadn't lost in an ODI match to West Indies since December 2014. "It'd be 5-0. This series is a way to test our squad depth. Bla. Bla. Bla."

Except they were hit by a familiar though deadlier hurricane named "Christopher Henry Gayle".

39 sixes in 4 games. 400+ runs with a strike rate of 130+ en route to becoming the first man, woman or any other animal in the entire solar system to hit 500 international sixes.

If you deliver full and straight, you are putting the bald headed guy sitting at mid-wicket region in the crowd in mortal danger. If you choose to instead target his rib cage, it will crash the glasses of cars parked outside the stadium. Instead, if you choose to take the pace off the ball, it may work when Gayle is starting his innings, but when he is having fun out there, you will only cause a lost ball.

4 games. 2 hundreds. 2 fifties. Hitting sixes for fun. He causes delirium in the crowd making them forget who they are cheering for and he does things which are difficult for mortals to imagine let alone try out in the middle.

England weren't bad (except in the last match, where they were in a hurry to watch the latest episode of "Game of Thrones" that they forgot to bat, bowl or field), they were just beaten by a team which is massively underrated. With the batting lineup of Gayle, Hope, Bravo, Hetmyer, Russel, Holder, Braithwaite: they have got too much dynamite to explode any bowling lineup on this blue-green planet.

England remain consistently inconsistent. They know that they have only as much chance of winning the World Cup as other 3-4 nations. Sure, they are good and they are playing at home and all that, but one brain-freeze like they had at Gros Islet, and the dream and the honeymoon will be over.

But, but, but... despite this criticising post, it doesn't change the fact that I've always loved England cricket and will continue to do so in future (Unconditionally). It matters very little to me whether they win this World Cup or not. They are and will remain my babies. And it gives me goosebumps to even imagine Eoin's team at the podium with the World Cup on July 14, 2019. I hope this dream turns into reality. 

Another letter for Brendon McCullum

Dear Brendon

It was such a source of sadness for me when last week, you announced your retirement from BBL. I still believe that you are good enough to play any form of cricket there is. Through this letter, I want to pay a tribute to you for everything you have taught me about cricket and life in general.

When you walk to the middle, I can feel the electricity in the air. When you bat, nothing else in the world matters to me. When you are on the field, anything is possible. You have been a perfect role model for me for so many years now. I have learned more from you than I can say here. Still, let me try:

• Play it safe, play it safe. What the heck! Swing for the rooftops: Life is short. You can't be playing safe all the times. Life is an endless trade-off between risk and reward. I have never seen anyone as aggressive in approaching the game as you. Safety never resulted in something great. 
• Best captain I ever saw: Along with Michael Clarke, you are the best captain I have ever seen on a cricket field. You are an astute reader of the game and never back down from taking a risk. 5 slips, a wide gully, a backward point, a short-cover, silly point, a catching mid-off, a short mid-wicket, short-leg and so on. Jeez, I miss those days. Numbers will never do justice to what you brought on the field. There is no man-made tool to measure your contribution. Attack, attack, attack. All. The. Time. 
• Don't give the opposition a chance: I still remember England playing against Blackcaps in the 2015 World Cup. While England were noticeably terrible, they were nowhere as bad as losing an ODI game in 10 overs. I had never seen anyone annihilating a bowling attack so brutally as that. Bang! Six. Bang! Four. It was a testament to how much mental aggression is important in our sports. I could almost feel for England bowlers bowling haplessly to defend a paltry total when they knew that they had not got a cat in a hell's chance. 
• This is just a game, after all: No better person in the world to have a beer with at the close of the play. Play it hard on the field, but cricketing friendships should last a lifetime. Your cricketing relationships with fellow cricketers is a perfect example of this. 
• 100% commitment: I have seen you on numerous occasions dive across the field converting a four into a three even if it wouldn't make a difference on the result. Sometimes, despite knowing that they are gonna run four anyway, you choose to do it. Now, that is a 100% commitment. And it was never limited to only blackcaps, but for every team, you have ever played for: from Brisbane Heat to CSK. Each one of them. 
• The first scoring shot can be six, there is no problem with that: I don't know any batter who is not afraid of getting a duck. Hence, they try to minimize the risk while getting off the mark. Just nudge a single. Put the bat in front of the line of the ball and run. Even if the ball is a full-toss begging to be hit, they choose not to do it. What if I fail? What if I get dropped because of getting a duck and all that. They are just too scared of the what-ifs. Not you. I have seen on a number of occasions you starting out your innings with a gallant six and warming up the hands of some fortunate spectator. I absolutely loved watching you. The only other person I can think of who used to do it was Virender Sehwag. 
• Many people can make runs, but can they scoop Shaun Tait bowling at 100 miles per hour?: The image of you hitting Shaun Tait hitting over fine-leg on your way to yet another T20 international hundred is still fresh in my mind. With all due respect to batters playing conventional cricketing shots, making runs innovatively is an entirely different challenge. If there is a half-volley pitching outside the off-stump, 99% of the good batters can hit it through covers for four, but those who hit it between third slip and gully for a cheeky boundary, they are the ones who push the boundaries of batsmanship. No better example of this than you (AB used to do it too, and I loved him as well.)
• My personal biases: I like stylish cricketers. Good hairstyle, tattoos, chewing gums, aggressive, walking back without cursing when they get out, moving on from disappointments quickly, playing it hard and fair. I also have a strong place for the athletes born in September (My Birthday Month). You are each one of the above. 

You've always been an inspiration to me, Brendon and you will continue to be so. Hope to meet you someday in person. 

Respectfully yours, 

pawan