The Gift of Edgbaston

Funny game, Cricket : isn't it? Ten days ago, people were ready to bet their money on 4-1 in favor of Australia. A week earlier before that, people were talking big things about "this new England". Today, here we stand in Edgbaston watching the brutal crushing of Australia in almost two days.

When skipper Clarke won the toss and chose to bat first, they had Lords at mind. Post a total large enough. Don't give England enough time to switch themselves on. Here, something was different. England had Finn. Anderson was looking different. Rain delayed the proceedings a bit. But till the end of day 1, England were trailing by 3 runs with 7 wickets in hand. Anderson had taken care of more than half of Australian batsmen. Suddenly, England were back to their best after getting humiliated ten days earlier. Among all the chaos, Rogers stood in the storm alone. Making another fifty. It looks at the moment that making fifty is like eating salad for him. It was his 9th 50+ score in last 11 innings. England didn't need more than 3 bowlers to bundle all of them.

Day 2 came. Johnson was on 299. He jumped to 301 in 3 deliveries. Both dismissals were xerox copies of each other : except second scalp was left handed. Australia were looking dangerous. They looked to restrict England at a lead of below 100 and then we all know what Warner and co. usually do in third innings. But, England had got probably the best no. 8 to ever play test cricket. Moeen Ali. Partnership with Broad of 87 runs blunted the Australians. The lead was 145. It was enough. Game resumed. Then it was Finn's turn. He ripped the Australians single-handedly. Two years ago, he was "Unselectable". Today, it was impossible to imagine dropping him. He looked indecipherable to the aussies. Warner fought single-handedly followed by Nevill. He was in a different zone. 35 ball 50. Finally, Anderson took care of him. Australia were playing to take it to day 3 after that.

Day 3: Australia fought as hard as they could. Nevil and Starc made England work hard for those remaining three wickets. But the defeat had become inescapable till now. Finally, England found those three precious timbers. Time for chase. It was all over unless England decided to implode. England didn't. Not this time. Lyth worries continued. He will remain a doubt for Trent Bridge. Belly found his lost touch. Two fifties in the game. Root was as evergreen as ever. Suddenly, England problems seem to disappear. England are making it ridiculous with win-loss-win-loss combo. Where do they go from here? We will have to wait and watch in the next two games. For now, 2-1 looks satisfying.

Dale Steyn : 400 and still counting....

Dale steyn is back : This time with a new hairdo. A headband : it reminded me of Roger Federer. He wants everybody to shut up about speculations like "How many overs he has still got in him" blah blah blah. He is the bowler of our generation. Speed, skill, accuracy, swing : name a thing which a fast bowler wants and he has got it. He reached the milestone in 80 tests. Second quickest to reach there. But in terms of balls bowled, he is number 1. Phenomenal strike rate. A wicket every 42nd ball in test cricket. Are you joking? No. He is a real role model to any young fast bowler.

A week ago, just after the first test when he struggled in Chittagong against a team like Bangladesh, it appeared as if his good days are far back behind. Bangladesh batters were playing him with ease. The magic was missing. Steyn was completely broken when New Zealand defeated them to reach their first world cup finals. He warmed the benches more than he is used to during IPL. It was a dark time. Indeed. 

What makes him different than others? For starters, He is a real fighter. He believes in taking it to the end always. He always gives everything he has, in every delivery he bowls. He has got this insatiable hunger to be the best. He tops the test ranking charts more often than not. South Africa have won or drawn 60+ tests out of 79 which Steyn has played. He is the newest member of 400 club. 13th overall.

Then he did what he does best. He practiced. Now, he is back. Got 3 crucial wickets in first innings of second test. More than wickets, what was more important was his regaining of lost confidence. He is still 32 only. A lot of cricket left in him. It will be really stupendous to see him celebrating him getting his 500th scalp. Here is a nice compilation of some of his wickets. Enjoy the perfection of fast bowling. Thank you Dale.

Watching AB DeVilliars Bat

AB DeVilliars has come out to bat. Fasten your seat belts. Welcome to the world of possibilities. Welcome to the freak show. Welcome to the show of arguably the best batsman to ever bat on this planet. The fielders are irrelevant now. There is hardly any work left for them other than providing him with the ball to hit. All that is left is for the spectators to return the ball. The bowlers have absolutely no idea where to bowl. This man can fetch the balls outside off are sent away through and over fine leg. There is no margin for any error now.

When AB DeVilliars come out to bat, all eyes lit up. A gentle tap on the mid-pitch, ready to take guard. The whole environment becomes electric. There is a bit of tension in opposition camp. This man can bat 220 balls without hitting a boundary when the team need to save a test and then this man can hit 149 in 44 balls when the team demands. He is undoubtedly one of the biggest athlete to have ever walked on this planet. He has multiple places to hit a six on the same ball, out of which he has to choose one from. He doesn't play the bowlers, He plays with them. He is jumping in the air. He is lying on the ground. he is floating. he is flying. All of them to hit a six.

AB DeVilliars defies all the laws of human body while playing a shot. It is a real wonder some of the shots he has played till now has not led to some dislocated shoulder or back. When the ball leaves the DeVilliars bat, it knows no other destination than the boundary. Apart from these extraordinary six-hitting abilities, he can show you all the glimpses of touch batting too. He can steer through the slips. He can square cut. He can flick through midwicket. He can reverse-sweep. Name a shot and AB will show you how to play it.

None of us is unaware of what this man can do single handedly. Once he turns his attention to the ball, there is no going back now. Watching him sending the balls to boundaries is a real moment of pleasure. It appears as if the world has frozen. The world appears so pure and serene. He has got every record in speed racing under his name. It is such a shame that this man doesn't own a world cup. When he is in the middle, all you see is him. All other things seem to be moot.

ABD is here. Just grab a popcorn and enjoy the show.

England at its lowest point

England are out of the world cup 2015 in the first round. But we should not be surprised. Look at the facts: England have not won an ODI series in more than a year. They lost series against Sri Lanka both at home and away from home. They lost 2 out of their last 3 matches against Bangladesh. They have not reached a world cup final after 1992. They have lost more ODIs than won in last 5 world cups. Like it is, failure and success all come from habit and momentum. They have been thrashed by Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Against Australia, they were blown away chasing a mammoth total, while against New Zealand they managed to capture their biggest defeat in terms of balls remaining. Against Sri Lanka, they were able to take only one wicket in a chase of 300+.

Like KP tweeted after the loss,"Don't say that we don't take ODI cricket seriously, We played back to back ashes only because we wanted full 6 months of ODI cricket before the world cup". Let's face it, Apart from 2012 when they got to Number one, England never had been a great ODI side. They have overused and over lasted their traditional red ball cricket stuff into ODI cricket. They are too rusty with the bat and ball in ODIs. They are too busy building the innings when the game has gone to dashing and smashing the ball. They are happy thinking about 300 while the world has moved to 350-400. They are far too much conservative.

England are lacking variation in their bowling attack. All the four seamers are right hand fast medium. There is no left arm seamer or spinner. They are not very good in bowling the yorkers in death overs. They are not generating enough pace to discomfort the batsmen. Worst of all - their captain Eoin morgan has managed 5 ducks in his last 9 ODI innings including the ones against Australia in Tri-series finals, in opening game at MCG and in the must win game against Bangladesh. It looks as if they are not even the best ODI side in Europe. They are completely outdated. They changed the captain before the world cup to have a proper go at the world cup and yet they managed to get eliminated with the likes of Scotland, Afganistan and UAE.

The arrogance of sacking KP has backfired again. The team has been broken completely. It is at its lowest point. It is worse than losing an ashes series 5-0. There we have mighty Australia. Here, we got kicked out by Bangladesh. I still remember the time, when England was at the top of test and ODI ranking. They beat Australia in Australia, defeated India in India and managed to keep Australia winless during one of the Ashes. They won T20 world cup with KP being player of the series and yet they removed him because they prefer lamb-minded nature of players far more than their performance.

It is real certain that England need immediate changes starting from coaching staffs to chairmen. They have simply outlived their tenures. Elimination is one thing, but there are grades of defeat. Losing so shamelessly clearly dictates that something is not right at its heart itself. Right now, England are in trauma and rightly so.

A letter to Brendon McCullum

Dear Brendon,

I am writing this letter as a well loved tribute to you. Every time I watch you bat, I am mesmerized. The fearlessness, aggressiveness and making the opposition feel that they are just not worthy enough. You can bruise the bowling attack like very few other men in international cricket. As long as you are at the crease, It is just impossible to go through daily's work. You have sparkled the belief in this kiwi team that anything is possible. Last year was full of extraordinary moments you provided. Scoring 500+ runs against India in two test series, Making a double ton against Pakistan, Crashing Sri Lankan bowlers all across the park in innings of 195, humiliation of England in 25 ball 77, toying with Johnson in 21 ball 50, all these have shown how powerful a force you are for this New Zealand and world cricket.

If not for you, New Zealand would never have become a force in cricket which they certainly are at this moment. The winning streaks, the momentum, the confidence all have originated from your superb leadership. It appears as if you are looking in your player's eyes and saying : "You can do anything". You have simply pushed the level of aggression in captaincy. You are arguably the best captain in the world right now. Very few captains would give their oppositions more than 120 overs to chase down a total of 380 when you are already 1-0 up in two match series. Starting the innings with three or four slips and giving the bowlers a belief such that the slip cordon lasts longer than most other teams. The electrifying pieces of fielding leading from the front explains it all.

You took captaincy from Ross in uncertain times and Most of the people would not have agreed to that. There would have been a lot of tension between Ross and You when that decision was made. But, you overcame it and now you have completely changed the future of New Zealand cricket. It is very very difficult to believe now that Once this team was beaten four-nil against Bangladesh. When You are on ground, it appears as if you are everywhere. From running to chatting with bowlers to hitting boundaries in the umbrella. You are the spearhead and the source of energy for New Zealand cricket. Hitting 95 miles balls as if they are just meant to be.:) You throw yourself around to every ball you face and have set up quite a standard for others to follow.

You have been a real source of inspiration for all the cricket fans across the world. Always trying to win, trying to take the game forward. Looking at the format of the current world cup, where one bad game can end the tournament for you, It is very difficult to predict the winner. But I want you to know, whether you win or lose, You will always be loved. If anyone can give this world cup to New Zealand, then it's you.

From,
A Big Fan.

World cup 2015 : Things to watch out for

Although, T20 has created a lot of impact on cricket lovers, the 50-over format of cricket still remains the format to watch out for. Still, remarkable careers are made and destroyed in this format. Following are the things to watch out for in this world cup:

1. New Zealand

There has been no New Zealand world cup team, from which there had ever been so much expectations compared to current one. New Zealand have surpassed all the expectations in reaching the stage from where they are looking a serious contenders for the trophy. They have got a lot of match winners. Kane Williamson is carrying whole of the nation forward by scoring heaps of runs, Brendon McCullum is giving them firepower both with the bat and with aggressive captaincy, Ross Taylor has got his ODI form back, Boult is starting to provide the sharpness of test cricket in ODIs too, In Corey and Ronchi they have got terrific hard hitters and finishers, the spin legend Vettori is still sublime. They just don't know how good they have become. This nation of four million is hungrier than ever this time.

2. South Africa

Since the time, South Africa came back to cricket, they have got their own spark in them. Teams are afraid to play them in group stages. Their world cup journey so far has been full of sheer drama, batting collapses, dropped catches and losing on all occasions. They have got everything in the world cup apart from being the actual winners. Last time, it were New Zealand, who knocked them out when they failed to handle the big game pressure. Although, this time they have arrived with all the major players having a dream run. ABD just outsmarted everyone in reaching fastest ODI hundred, Amla and Steyn are beyond descriptions. They have got hard hitters like Miller and Duminy. They are going to crush the associates, that's for sure. The only thing to watch out is how badly they crush the others in group stages. After that, they need some luck and this time the trophy may go to Africa continent.

3. Indian Batting

The reason I am mentioning Indian batting is because the kind of bowling lineup India has, their batsmen always have to do some extra stuffs to win a cricket game. they have done that in recent couple of ICC tournaments. Their batting is so scary that against the associates like UAE, there is a real chance of 500 runs from them. India has evolved beyond other teams in terms of ODI batting. No other team in the world has the number of match winning batsmen as India has. Scoring at any required rate is not impossible for this team. Plus, the biggest factor with this team is their captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Since, It may be his last world cup, he would not want to leave anything behind to make it memorable. We have a real chance of another double hundred from one of the batsmen in this team.

4. Australia

Almost all the things are right with this australian team. The home environment, the form of current team, the bench strength : all these factors make them the biggest contender for the world cup. The problem which they may face is a really bad day in the knockout stage. They defeated South Africans convincingly in recently concluded ODI and T20 series, retained Border-Gavaskar trophy, remained unbeated during triumph in Tri-series against India and England. No doubt, Australia will begin the world cup as favorites. Australia will have the added advantage of knowing the conditions of playing ground in all matches. Australia have got the best pace attack in Johnson, Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins and they have a bunch of seam bowling allrounders like Faulkner, Mitchell Marsh, Watson. With the return of Clarke as skipper, this team looks almost invincible.

5. Associates

Minnows like UAE, Scotland, Ireland, Afganistan will have to go through a very hard time in this world cup. Looking at the history of the upsets happened in the past, no big team would take them lightly. The inclusion of associates have made people angry too. There will be too many meaningless games. There will over a month of cricket before there is any real possibility of elimination of a major team from this world cup. Associates will annoy people. Still, some of the teams like Afganistan may surprise some big team or at least give them a scare.

For sure, This world cup will make some of the people happy, some of them sad and bitter and some of them analyzing over ifs and buts. This will be the sixth world cup in my lifetime. Let us all enjoy this one. All of us will be at cricket at the same time and you can't afford to miss it.

Puzzling MS Dhoni

Another last over finish and Dhoni fails to do it again. It was the fourth instance in a T20 game when Dhoni remained N.O. and India failed to win. There will be a lot of debate about Does Dhoni want all the spotlight by himself? Otherwise, why won't you trust some batsman who has made 2 fifties in two games he was given chance in the ODI series. Is it over-confidence or too much self-belief? In cricket, there is a very thin line between bravery and foolishness. Dhoni loves to see the fear in the eyes of the bowler when he runs to deliver the ball in the final over. He has done it a lot of times in ODI cricket. But, In T20, his highest is still 48*, Not a single fifty in 50 games he has played for India. In tests, He is even worse.

Sometimes back in the past, I used to think Is MS Dhoni really the gifted one? He controlled the game like he has programmed it himself. Only He can find its bugs and for how much time it will run. Talking about test cricket, He is one of the most unimpressive captains in overseas test India ever got. He thinks test cricket on a different level than other greats. He gives easy singles. He waits for the batsmen to make mistakes. He frustates them by putting 7 fielders on leg side and bowling on middle and leg. He wants opposition to throw their wickets. These things are okay in limited over cricket, but In Test cricket, He gets exposed so badly.

There have been some magic incidents which make us believe that He is not ordinary. Take examples of Joginder sharma bowling the last over in 2007 T20 WC, Ishant Sharma over in ICC champions Trophy final, Ishant sharma again in Lord's test, A mid off and long off both for Pollard in 2011 IPL final etc. But Sometimes we got to look on the dark sides too. India have not won a single overseas test since ages. Only one win out of infinite chances given in last four years. He doesn't take it seriously. He smiles after defeat in press conferences. He always gains positives from the series. He has countless number of excuses. He has his own ways of explaining things. When India won the ODI series, it only showed how bad England are in this format. FYI: Sri Lanka recently beat England both in Test and ODI series.

India have never been a great team overseas. Even when it had greats like Sachin, Sourav, Dravid, Sehwag etc. in it. We never had quality bowlers like other teams do. I still remember when India needed 87 in 15 overs, He shook hands rather than going for win against West Indies as India were leading in the series. I can't imagine a single captain in the world who hates 2-0 victory more than 1-0. Exception: MS Dhoni. He may be a great captain in limited over cricket, IPL, T20, but he is nowhere close to great ones in test cricket. He believes in filling the gaps in the team. He fills all rounders. He picks batsmen who can bowl, bowlers who can bat. This may work in ODI and T20, but not in test cricket. Stuary Binny: I could never get any idea what was he ? A bowler, a batsman, a timekiller, a game saver, a confidence booster to others who want to play test cricket?

Dhoni has won all the titles possible in world cricket. IPL, CL, World cup both 50 and 20 overs, ICC champions trophy. This was unachievable by a single person before he arrived. He has some good tactics. He reads the limited cricket so well that he makes the opposition bend before him. But, in test cricket, I have hardly found him attacking. He unnecessarily puts leg slip everytime a spinner bowls. He hardly scores tons in tests. In limited overs, even if you make a mistake, it gets over by the end of day. But in tests, they haunt you. You are asked questions during your sleep. It continues for five days. Test cricket is no joke. It reflects how hard you have worked, where you are progressing as a unit. Even if one mistake is exposed in your team, you will continue to lose till you fill that void.

Yesterday, I saw his press conference. MS Dhoni calls it a good tour. He does not mind losing test series by 1-3. All the cricket world is laughing.

A Tale of Downfall

Captain Alastair Cook photo on my laptop is smiling. I have not got a single clue why? He talks in his familiar style after the match. The hopeful words keep coming out of his mouth. He honestly gives credit to Indian team for the special victory. After all, his team has performed  like what has become a habit. Whole England team is out there hanging their heads down. India did which they had not done over 1100 days, a test win at overseas. The question here is - What happened to three lions?

Before the series started, there were serious allegations about how MS Dhoni's men will take over England? India has the worst record on England soil and the recent past had not been kind for the men in blue. Yes, England were struggling. But, could they be beaten by India? Many said no. India lack depth in bowling. Experts said Indian bowlers have not got ability to take 20 wickets. blah. blah. blah...

England have never been so vulnerable at home. A winless streak of 10 tests out of which seven are losses. The loss of some of the the key players like Swann, Trott, KP added with the poor run of Cook, prior clearly shows the chaos this team is going under. They have become insecure and wobbly. It seems as if they have lost the self-belief to win a cricket match. Against the Aussies, They were horrible in all formats of the game. They lost both ODI and test series against Sri Lanka in their home conditions. And now they are 0-1 down against India.

There was a time, this team rose to number one rankings in test cricket with the nucleus of Cook, Strauss, Trott, KP, Bell, Broad, Anderson. Although, most of them are still out there, but what they are lacking is the winning instinct. They are just not showing any stomach for fight. They are failing to perform as a unit. There was a time, when Even Broad used to get daddy tons for them. On those days, If you had missed even a run out chance of Cook, you would have been punished with a double hundred. Gone are those days, Gone are those moments. After Flower retired, there was a hope that new coach, new environment will bring some change. Instead, it has brought two test losses out of four, he has been a part of. England look arrogant at this instant. Their batting, bowling and their fielding have just become rubbish.

They are backing the players who had got them to rank one even with the overwhelming evidence that they are no more the same as then. Talking about Lords' wicket, it was one the the greenest wicket ever in the history of the game. Having  the advantage of winning the toss and reducing India for 145 for 7, they let them come back in the game.  In the second Innings, they were once 156 for 4 and then managed to lost 6 wickets for 50 runs. A perfect end for being so imperfect. Something is not quite right with this team.

With three more tests to go, Cook's men have got to prove something, not to the critics, but to themselves. They need to search the self-belief inside their souls.They need to get inspiration from how they defeated India in India two years ago from one test down. Perhaps, one last chance for Cook and co.

Signing out. Thanks.

The Worst Defeat Ever?

Australia sealed only the third 5-0 whitewash in the Ashes' 130-year history on Sunday, winning the fifth test in Sydney by 281 runs with more than two days to spare. Geoff Boycott termed it as "one of the most depressing and humiliating days for English cricket". Before the series the scoreline of Australia winning by five to nil against England was as impossible as Bangladesh winning the world cup in one-day format. But, the beast called "Confidence" gave Australia the X-factor, let it be in the form of Mitch which they were certainly lacking in the recently concluded Ashes in 2012.

The Statistics were even poor: Cook, the top batsman of England batting lineup averaged less than number 8 Mitchell Johnson for Australia. Out of 10 occasions, they failed to cross 200 mark six times. Each defeat was crushing in its own sense. Each one was either more than 100 runs or 8 wickets. The third time Australia have beaten England 5-0 after 1920-21 and 2006-07.

The presentation ceremony after the Ashes went over was even more overwhleming. Cook and co. hung their heads as if the all the gravity of earth were concentrated there. The series left England without Greame Swann, Matt prior, Jonathan Trott: the pillars who sent England to Number 1 or contributed significantly. There was chaos in England's dressing room over Alastair cook and Andy Flower retention.

To me, the main reason England lost so significantly is the tiredness. Since, 2011, No player has faced as many test balls as Alastair Cook, No bowling unit has bowled as much as Anderson-Broad-Swann. They tried a lot here, but they were tired. Even in the last Ashes, everytime Australia looked to come back, One performance: either with the bat or ball saved England. This time, England has no plans. Trott left after first match. Swann took the retirement probably the worst/best timely retirement in the history. Batsmen were failing. They had no answer to the pace trio of Harris-Mitch-Siddle. They repeated the same mistakes again and again. In adeilade, when things could have gone their way, they shut the door on their face by dropping sitters. The worst part was the face that Australia won without their top 6 batsmen except of Rogers being in prime form. And Mitchell Johnson was in the form of his life. He looked like Batman with the power of Superman.

England at this moment is at rock bottom. But, I too like others feel that this is the worst phase of England cricket. Things will go better from here on. The only place where you can go from bottom is up. I still believe that England are a better side than they displayed themselves. They just need a winning habit, that's all. Hopefully, they get it soon.

As the law of truism goes, Nothing can go on forever. No force in cricket up to now has been so great which has dominated since the beginning. Let it be England.

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.