It was mid way through the Indian tour of England, more specifically it was when I was in Birmingham and watched India lose the third test that an idea started. Along with couple more folks on twitter , began a talk about about starting a site, created by fans of the game, where one could talk about it from a fan's perspective.
A week and half ago, after quite a few Skype calls, gtalk chats, email exchanges, the idea came to fruition. Introducing The Sightscreen .This idea is a collaborative effort , and major kudos to : Aashish, Devanshu, Minal, Masuud, Subash and Shrikant.
Opinions pieces , nostalgia , stats and stadium information. We think these sections should cater to a broad spectrum of the fans of the game. Do have a look around, and appreciate all forms of feedback about the site.
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Post series, a bit of ambivalence
After comfortably batting out the fifth day, Australia secured their first series win since retaining the Trans - Tasman trophy early last year. Since then they had drawn the series against Pakistan in England, lost to India in India and comprehensively lost the Ashes. Post the Ashes loss, Ricky Ponting resigned from the captaincy, Michael Clarke took over. This was the first real tour for the Australian's under Clarke's reign. To come away with wins in both the ODI's and test's then is a pretty good return. I am however ambivalent to the results.
There have been a few positives to come out from the test series. The debut series for Trent Copeland and Nathan Lyon have gone fine. Barring Lyon's fiver in the first innings at Galle, combined they didn't set the series alight. They however didn't look like fish out of water.When Nathan Lyon was picked for this tour, I feared for the guy. Here was someone possibly making his debut in Sri Lanka and having to bowl against the likes of Sangakkara , Dilshan and Jayawadene on their home turf. To then come away with 8 wickets ( five of them admittedly in one innings) and going touch over 3 rpo wasn't bad returns. What needs to be kept in mind is that he had only 8 first class games, and a few ODI games with Australia A prior to this tour. He was in other terms, a virtual greenhorn. Sincerely hope the selectors stick with the guy and give him an extended run.
Trent Copeland is the sort of seamer Australia were missing for a while. Someone who could lock an end up to offer the captain a semblance of control when having Mitchell Johnson spray his stuff around. Bowling in the mid to late 120 kmph, his strength is the line and length he consistently bowled. On the flat decks in Sri Lanka he showed excellent control. To come away with 6 wickets, and conceding just over 2 rpo makes for decent return. What was impressive to note was that his line and length didn't seem to waver at any time. He also showed that he was no rabbit with the bat, and is more than a handy fielder. So much so, he was seen fielding at short cover, and at slips at various stages of the series. Would be interesting to see how the South African's play him. With his control of line and length, would make for interesting viewing. He might just have the sort of series Stuart Clark had in 2006.
Was chuffed to see that Shaun Marsh made his test debut and for at least the South African series seem to have sealed the #3 spot. Made an excellent start to his test career with a century on debut and carried on the good form in the third test. Ideally though would like to see him opening the innings for Australia. Which is where things got a bit complex with the Phil Hughes century in the second innings. He could well have been playing for his place in the X1 and with that century has surely sealed his opening spot for the Protea's tour.
The test series was however disappointing for Watson and Ponting. Both seemed to get starts during the series but neither of them went on to make that big score. Ponting showed good form in the first few ODI's and expected him to have a decent test series. Which didn't happen. Watson carried on from his Ashes series form, where in he got starts in most innings only to throw it away. Watson for me is wasted at the openers position. Ideally he should go back to #6 spot. However, both him and Clarke made it amply clear that it wasn't going to happen any time soon.
Mitchell Johnson, for someone who was the most experienced , it was another dire series. Never seemed to look like bagging wickets, and am not sure he deserves a place in the playing eleven any more. Hardly contributing with the bat, misfiring with the ball, Australia cannot afford to carry passengers when they are trying to get back into winning mode. Brad Haddin was another player who had a horrible tour. Australia took a major gamble by only selecting one specialist keeper and were lucky he didn't suffer injuries. With the bat he hardly contributed all tour but he is safe in the knowledge that Tim Paine is only coming back from injury.
It was great to see that Michael Hussey carried on his fine form from the Ashes series. Two hundreds, and two scores of 90 in five completed innings made for a superb series with the bat. His form is now going to put serious pressure on Ricky Ponting to justify his selection in the team. No small praise also to the efforts of Ryan Harris in the first two tests. 11 wickets in two tests, with a fiver in the second innings a Galle securing the all important test win. It's a shame that the knees would mean that a shortened test career is all but a given for the large hearted Harris.
Overall though, it was good to see Australia get back into some form of winning ways. The test at Galle on that pitch was a major challenge and thanks to winning the toss, they came through that test. It was slightly disappointing that even with over 100 overs at Kandy they couldn't get the win for a convincing series win. They had their backs to the wall at Colombo, but thanks to some doggedness, a placid pitch and some flaccid Sri Lankan bowling, they secured the draw.
Positive signs, yes. Tempered positive signs though.Their series in South Africa will show if this is a turn in the right direction or another false awakening.
There have been a few positives to come out from the test series. The debut series for Trent Copeland and Nathan Lyon have gone fine. Barring Lyon's fiver in the first innings at Galle, combined they didn't set the series alight. They however didn't look like fish out of water.When Nathan Lyon was picked for this tour, I feared for the guy. Here was someone possibly making his debut in Sri Lanka and having to bowl against the likes of Sangakkara , Dilshan and Jayawadene on their home turf. To then come away with 8 wickets ( five of them admittedly in one innings) and going touch over 3 rpo wasn't bad returns. What needs to be kept in mind is that he had only 8 first class games, and a few ODI games with Australia A prior to this tour. He was in other terms, a virtual greenhorn. Sincerely hope the selectors stick with the guy and give him an extended run.
Trent Copeland is the sort of seamer Australia were missing for a while. Someone who could lock an end up to offer the captain a semblance of control when having Mitchell Johnson spray his stuff around. Bowling in the mid to late 120 kmph, his strength is the line and length he consistently bowled. On the flat decks in Sri Lanka he showed excellent control. To come away with 6 wickets, and conceding just over 2 rpo makes for decent return. What was impressive to note was that his line and length didn't seem to waver at any time. He also showed that he was no rabbit with the bat, and is more than a handy fielder. So much so, he was seen fielding at short cover, and at slips at various stages of the series. Would be interesting to see how the South African's play him. With his control of line and length, would make for interesting viewing. He might just have the sort of series Stuart Clark had in 2006.
Was chuffed to see that Shaun Marsh made his test debut and for at least the South African series seem to have sealed the #3 spot. Made an excellent start to his test career with a century on debut and carried on the good form in the third test. Ideally though would like to see him opening the innings for Australia. Which is where things got a bit complex with the Phil Hughes century in the second innings. He could well have been playing for his place in the X1 and with that century has surely sealed his opening spot for the Protea's tour.
The test series was however disappointing for Watson and Ponting. Both seemed to get starts during the series but neither of them went on to make that big score. Ponting showed good form in the first few ODI's and expected him to have a decent test series. Which didn't happen. Watson carried on from his Ashes series form, where in he got starts in most innings only to throw it away. Watson for me is wasted at the openers position. Ideally he should go back to #6 spot. However, both him and Clarke made it amply clear that it wasn't going to happen any time soon.
Mitchell Johnson, for someone who was the most experienced , it was another dire series. Never seemed to look like bagging wickets, and am not sure he deserves a place in the playing eleven any more. Hardly contributing with the bat, misfiring with the ball, Australia cannot afford to carry passengers when they are trying to get back into winning mode. Brad Haddin was another player who had a horrible tour. Australia took a major gamble by only selecting one specialist keeper and were lucky he didn't suffer injuries. With the bat he hardly contributed all tour but he is safe in the knowledge that Tim Paine is only coming back from injury.
It was great to see that Michael Hussey carried on his fine form from the Ashes series. Two hundreds, and two scores of 90 in five completed innings made for a superb series with the bat. His form is now going to put serious pressure on Ricky Ponting to justify his selection in the team. No small praise also to the efforts of Ryan Harris in the first two tests. 11 wickets in two tests, with a fiver in the second innings a Galle securing the all important test win. It's a shame that the knees would mean that a shortened test career is all but a given for the large hearted Harris.
Overall though, it was good to see Australia get back into some form of winning ways. The test at Galle on that pitch was a major challenge and thanks to winning the toss, they came through that test. It was slightly disappointing that even with over 100 overs at Kandy they couldn't get the win for a convincing series win. They had their backs to the wall at Colombo, but thanks to some doggedness, a placid pitch and some flaccid Sri Lankan bowling, they secured the draw.
Positive signs, yes. Tempered positive signs though.Their series in South Africa will show if this is a turn in the right direction or another false awakening.
Monday, 19 September 2011
Was the Angelo Matthews criticism warranted ?
Angelo Matthews today got his maiden test century in the third test against Australia at the SSC, Colombo. It was an interesting innings and one which brought about a curious opinion piece on Cricinfo at the end of the days play.
He came to the wicket when Sri Lanka were 210/4 at the end of the 82 over, scoring at a run rate of 2.6 rpo. He then had a partnership of 121 with Dilshan at 3.4 rpo. When Dilshan got out, Matthews was on 42 made of 96 balls (SR of 44). He then had another partnership with wicket keeper Prasanna Jayawardene, scoring at 3 rpo. When Prasana Jayawardene got out, Sri Lanka were 412/5 off 145 overs, scoring at 2.8 rpo. So Sri Lanka improved their run rate after Matthews had come to the crease, albeit it wasn't entirely due to him. At that time Matthews had scored 74 runs of 177 balls (SR of 42). Sri Lanka at that stage had a lead of 96 which was no means close to being a match winning lead.
Along with the bowlers, Matthews then took another 29 overs to score 61 runs at just over 2 rpo. In fact as the Cricinfo ball by ball commentary showed, Sri Lanka scored 45 runs of 19 overs in the morning session while losing the remaining four wickets, resulting in an overall lead of 157. Matthews went to his 100 of 256 deliveries at a SR of 40. He ended up not out on 105, made of 269 deliveries, a SR of 39. So as I see it, his strike rate through out the entire innings didn't vary to a great extent. When he was playing alongside Dilshan and Jayawardene his strike rate was only marginally better.
However, today's morning session which saw Matthews get to his 100 prompted this piece by Daniel Brettig, where in he makes the claim that Angelo Matthews in his pursuit of his maiden test century put himself ahead of the team. Did he actually do it ? Brettig's opinion is that by the go slow this morning, he had wasted valuable time in his pursuit of the land mark. He acknowledges that getting a maiden hundred isn't meant to be taken lightly, but he also has a dig at the sub continent's cricketers obsession with personal land mark. Brettig's contention is that Sri Lanka needed to do all the chasing, being 0 - 1 down in the series, and thus today's morning session was just not on.
Curiously though, Michael Clarke had a different take on things, in his post days play press conference. Clarke said " Last night and today I thought they'd be a bit more proactive. In saying that, I had a lot of guys on the fence " In effect Australia were being defensive, which is perfectly understandable considering they had a lead to protect. Considering the state of play, Matthews played the percentages fine.
When Jayawardene got out, Sri Lanka had a lead of only 96, which he managed to stretch to 157. In trying to go for quick runs this morning Sri Lanka could very well have been bundled out lot quicker, and for a much lower lead. This would have played into Australia's hands as they would have had the best part of the fourth day to bat to try and get a sizeable lead, which they could have stretched further in the fifth day morning session. They then would have had the chance to try and go for a win.
Which is where I found the Brettig opinion piece interesting. Would have agreed with his line of thinking if this had transpired on day 5, when Sri Lanka would have needed as much time as possible to try and bowl out Australia. Considering it happened on day 4, I found the opinion piece odd. When the Sri Lankan innings ended close to lunch, they had a lead of 157 and there were 5 sessions of play left. It was a pretty decent position to be in. No one could then have foreseen the Phil Hughes knock or the fact that for much of the day's play Australia were scoring close to 3.5 runs per over.
Which is where I found the Brettig opinion piece interesting. Would have agreed with his line of thinking if this had transpired on day 5, when Sri Lanka would have needed as much time as possible to try and bowl out Australia. Considering it happened on day 4, I found the opinion piece odd. When the Sri Lankan innings ended close to lunch, they had a lead of 157 and there were 5 sessions of play left. It was a pretty decent position to be in. No one could then have foreseen the Phil Hughes knock or the fact that for much of the day's play Australia were scoring close to 3.5 runs per over.
That said, Australia, inspite of Phil Hughes century aren't safe yet in the test. At the end of the fourth day's play, they are only 52 runs ahead. Their advantage is the seven wickets in hand. What should give Sri Lanka hope and belief is that besides Hussey who is next in, none of the remaining Australian batsman are in great knick. All it needs is for them to grab two wickets within the first hours play and they could very well go on and win the test. Which is why I found the Australian go slow towards the back end of the day's play very odd. They could possibly have been a 100 or close to it ahead which would have made Sri Lanka's job of chasing down the target that much harder. They didn't,and therein lies the chance for Sri Lanka. Should make for a fascinating morning session.
Should Sri Lanka go on and achieve the win and draw the series they will have Angelo Matthews innings to thank. For that he deserves credit and not the criticism.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
25 years on this day - the tied test at Chennai.
September 18, 1986 - not a day a lot of us will remember or recollect at the drop of a hat . I certainly don't, not until the last few weeks when in one of the many hours on you tube I came across a few clips recollecting the tale of only the second tied test in cricketing history.
September 18 is when the test match started at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chepauk. When I viewed the documentary and when I think back to my memories of the ground, not much changed when I visited the ground in 1998 and 1999. The stadium though has now undergone a shift. That though isn't the point of this post.
My cricket viewing had started the same year. My first ever cricketing memory is this match, which as I see it now was also on the 18'th. School holidays and that day happened to be at some birthday party, and the match was on. Quite a painful memory. Here you lot jog down memory lane as well and relive that moment.
I don't remember much from the tied test. Truth be told, I remember Matthews bowling in a cap but wouldn't associated it with this match. Talk to anyone who follows cricket though, and if you ask them about the match, the first thing most folks remember/recollect is Dean Jones's double century made in that oppressive heat. Many would also recollect the famous line or some might even call it a sledge from Allan Border to Jones when he wanted to retire hurt. The keen fan would remember Kapil Dev's 100 in the first innings. I vaguely remember watching the final lbw which resulted in the tie, and ensuring the names of the two umpires who officiated - V Vikram Raju and DN Dotiwala are forever remembered.
Come to think of it, it was a stupendous effort from India to chase down 347 on the final day. This mind you was 25 years ago. How many teams would attempt it now ? A lot has been said about India chasing down 387 at Chennai against England in 2008 and how it was Sehwag's innings on the fourth evening that set up the chase on the final day. This target was just 40 runs lesser. It was chased down with about 30 overs lesser than the 08 Chennai test. The Indian team didn't have a Sehwag, some might say Kris Srikkanth comes close to it but look at the scorecard and no one played a Sehwag type innings.
Yet they managed a run rate of 4 rpo on the final day. In fact, look at the run rate maintained through out the test match by both teams. From memory, scoring at 3 rpo then constituted fast scoring. India had run rate of over 4 in the first innings, and pretty much 4 in the second. Australia scored at over 3 rpo in both their innings. It was that kind of a test match.
You can argue for the fielding not being the standards now, but that's counteracted with the general pace of test cricket back then. Also why didn't Border get his bowlers to bowl a negative line post tea session ? This was an Australian team not renowned for winning much back then (opposite of what Maninder Singh states in the documentary). They would rather have not lost another match. It didn't happen though, and fair credit to him for not resorting to that.
That's enough rambling from my side on a match I can't recollect too much about. Many thanks to Niharmaniyar for linking this up on you tube.
It has a few players involved in the test talking and they are - Allan Border, Dean Jones, David Boon, Kapil Dev, Kris Srikkanth, Sunil Gavaskar, Steve Waugh and Ravi Shastri. It also has views from the Australian coach Bob Simpson, umpires DN Dotivala, Vikram Raju, and reporter Mike Coward. Talking of coaches - who was India's coach then ? Anyone knows ?
Part 1 and Part 2 sets up the test match and general talk around the match and Australia's first innings.
Part 3 - Border explains the line/sledge at the beginning here. Watch Srikkanth here at over the 6 minute mark. Hilarious.
Part 4 - Border on the final day declaration.
Part 5 - Can you imagine the outrage, fines or even bans after that Tim Zoehrer / Chetan Sharma incident ( starts at 3:20) ? Didn't know of the incident until I had seen it in this clip.
Part 6 - begins with the lbw.
It must have been some test match to view, let alone play or be involved in. This documentary for me made for fascinating viewing. Listening to the players talk about the test. How I wish another of these tied tests happen sooner than later. The first tied test in 1960 between Australia and West Indies at Brisbane is only known through written pieces and grainy footage. Then it was this test in 1986. Imagine the excitement going into the final day, final over and all four results possible. We fans surely need one of these.
For obvious reasons, this test comes close in terms of the final margin of defeat. Distinctly remember following this match on ABC radio back home. This was before the days of 24 *7 cricket coverage. Another close one is of course the second Ashes test in the 2005 series. Besides these two, can't recollect too many other close matches. India's win in Mohali last year should be added to the list, but apart from it ?
Interested in folks who read this post .What do you remember from the tied test match ?
September 18 is when the test match started at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chepauk. When I viewed the documentary and when I think back to my memories of the ground, not much changed when I visited the ground in 1998 and 1999. The stadium though has now undergone a shift. That though isn't the point of this post.
My cricket viewing had started the same year. My first ever cricketing memory is this match, which as I see it now was also on the 18'th. School holidays and that day happened to be at some birthday party, and the match was on. Quite a painful memory. Here you lot jog down memory lane as well and relive that moment.
I don't remember much from the tied test. Truth be told, I remember Matthews bowling in a cap but wouldn't associated it with this match. Talk to anyone who follows cricket though, and if you ask them about the match, the first thing most folks remember/recollect is Dean Jones's double century made in that oppressive heat. Many would also recollect the famous line or some might even call it a sledge from Allan Border to Jones when he wanted to retire hurt. The keen fan would remember Kapil Dev's 100 in the first innings. I vaguely remember watching the final lbw which resulted in the tie, and ensuring the names of the two umpires who officiated - V Vikram Raju and DN Dotiwala are forever remembered.
Come to think of it, it was a stupendous effort from India to chase down 347 on the final day. This mind you was 25 years ago. How many teams would attempt it now ? A lot has been said about India chasing down 387 at Chennai against England in 2008 and how it was Sehwag's innings on the fourth evening that set up the chase on the final day. This target was just 40 runs lesser. It was chased down with about 30 overs lesser than the 08 Chennai test. The Indian team didn't have a Sehwag, some might say Kris Srikkanth comes close to it but look at the scorecard and no one played a Sehwag type innings.
Yet they managed a run rate of 4 rpo on the final day. In fact, look at the run rate maintained through out the test match by both teams. From memory, scoring at 3 rpo then constituted fast scoring. India had run rate of over 4 in the first innings, and pretty much 4 in the second. Australia scored at over 3 rpo in both their innings. It was that kind of a test match.
You can argue for the fielding not being the standards now, but that's counteracted with the general pace of test cricket back then. Also why didn't Border get his bowlers to bowl a negative line post tea session ? This was an Australian team not renowned for winning much back then (opposite of what Maninder Singh states in the documentary). They would rather have not lost another match. It didn't happen though, and fair credit to him for not resorting to that.
That's enough rambling from my side on a match I can't recollect too much about. Many thanks to Niharmaniyar for linking this up on you tube.
It has a few players involved in the test talking and they are - Allan Border, Dean Jones, David Boon, Kapil Dev, Kris Srikkanth, Sunil Gavaskar, Steve Waugh and Ravi Shastri. It also has views from the Australian coach Bob Simpson, umpires DN Dotivala, Vikram Raju, and reporter Mike Coward. Talking of coaches - who was India's coach then ? Anyone knows ?
Part 1 and Part 2 sets up the test match and general talk around the match and Australia's first innings.
Part 3 - Border explains the line/sledge at the beginning here. Watch Srikkanth here at over the 6 minute mark. Hilarious.
Part 4 - Border on the final day declaration.
Part 5 - Can you imagine the outrage, fines or even bans after that Tim Zoehrer / Chetan Sharma incident ( starts at 3:20) ? Didn't know of the incident until I had seen it in this clip.
Part 6 - begins with the lbw.
It must have been some test match to view, let alone play or be involved in. This documentary for me made for fascinating viewing. Listening to the players talk about the test. How I wish another of these tied tests happen sooner than later. The first tied test in 1960 between Australia and West Indies at Brisbane is only known through written pieces and grainy footage. Then it was this test in 1986. Imagine the excitement going into the final day, final over and all four results possible. We fans surely need one of these.
For obvious reasons, this test comes close in terms of the final margin of defeat. Distinctly remember following this match on ABC radio back home. This was before the days of 24 *7 cricket coverage. Another close one is of course the second Ashes test in the 2005 series. Besides these two, can't recollect too many other close matches. India's win in Mohali last year should be added to the list, but apart from it ?
Interested in folks who read this post .What do you remember from the tied test match ?
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Rahul Dravid bids farewell to the ODI arena
Tomorrow at Sophia Gardens in Wales, Rahul Dravid will play his 344'th and last one day international for India. He had been recalled after a gap of two years back into the Indian squad after injuries had ensured most of the original squad wouldn't be available. Looking at just the England tour alone, it wasn't the worst call the selectors made considering the form he had shown in the test series. He of course hadn't officially announced his retirement which allowed the selectors to recall him back. Four matches later and it hasn't been a recall of note and it all officially ends tomorrow.
He made his debut in this format in 1996 against Sri Lanka in Singapore. The ground being famous for being the venue where Jayasuriya scored a 50 of 17 balls, which remains the fastest in one day internationals. His debut innings wasn't anything of note, falling to Muralitharan for a single digit score. It's fair to say his first couple of years in ODI's weren't anything to write about. His one notable innings being the 84 he made in Durban in 1997 during the Standard Bank tri series final. It's a well known knock simply for the straight six he hit of Donald that night, and the subsequent foul mouthed abuse he got from Allan Donald.
It was during the World Cup in England in 1999 that Dravid made his mark in the ODI arena. While India didn't have a great World Cup to talk about, Dravid ended up as the leading run scorer. In the subsequent World Cup in South Africa he played as a batsman - wicketkeeper which allowed India to play seven front line batsman and four bowlers. Worked well for the team, as they ended up in the finals. His last and final World Cup though was the horror show in the West Indies where India were knocked out at the group stages under his captaincy. There is this poignant image of him standing alone in the middle while Sri Lanka celebrate the fall of another wicket which slide India further towards the exit. Post that World Cup exit , he didn't have much of an ODI career to speak of. After being dropped from the team, he was recalled back during the Champions Trophy in South Africa in 2009 only to again be unceremoniously dropped following that campaign. His stop start ODI career has finally run it's course and tomorrow he will don the Indian colours for one last time.
For one who is a classical batsman, Dravid featured in two 300 plus partnerships, within the span of a few months in 1999. He remains the only batsman to have such a feat. True to form and keeping with his entire career he was overshadowed in the first one by a stunning Ganguly knock, and in the second one by an equally brillaint knock from Sachin Tendulkar. He narrowly missed the record for the fastest fifty by an Indian during this innings. Nevertheless it was a stunning knock from a batsman who wasn't known to decimate bowling attacks.
While Dravid's test career has given us many memorable moments, his ODI career hasn't quite matched up to that. He's even had his only moment of controversy in his career during an ODI match in Australia. He is also responsible for this moment when Bill Lawry had one of his epic commentary moments. He wasn't too shabby a bowler in ODI's as well ! Guess after batting, wicket keeping and fielding , he can be forgiven for not showing or being allowed to show his bowling talents.
How would he be judged as an ODI player ?? His overall ODI record is pretty decent. Over 10 K runs at an average close to 40 at a strike rate just over 70. Not stunning numbers when compared to some of the other modern greats. Safe to say, the ODI arena wasn't the canvass to his liking and he bids farewell to it tomorrow.
Thanks Dravid for the memories you've provided.
He made his debut in this format in 1996 against Sri Lanka in Singapore. The ground being famous for being the venue where Jayasuriya scored a 50 of 17 balls, which remains the fastest in one day internationals. His debut innings wasn't anything of note, falling to Muralitharan for a single digit score. It's fair to say his first couple of years in ODI's weren't anything to write about. His one notable innings being the 84 he made in Durban in 1997 during the Standard Bank tri series final. It's a well known knock simply for the straight six he hit of Donald that night, and the subsequent foul mouthed abuse he got from Allan Donald.
It was during the World Cup in England in 1999 that Dravid made his mark in the ODI arena. While India didn't have a great World Cup to talk about, Dravid ended up as the leading run scorer. In the subsequent World Cup in South Africa he played as a batsman - wicketkeeper which allowed India to play seven front line batsman and four bowlers. Worked well for the team, as they ended up in the finals. His last and final World Cup though was the horror show in the West Indies where India were knocked out at the group stages under his captaincy. There is this poignant image of him standing alone in the middle while Sri Lanka celebrate the fall of another wicket which slide India further towards the exit. Post that World Cup exit , he didn't have much of an ODI career to speak of. After being dropped from the team, he was recalled back during the Champions Trophy in South Africa in 2009 only to again be unceremoniously dropped following that campaign. His stop start ODI career has finally run it's course and tomorrow he will don the Indian colours for one last time.
For one who is a classical batsman, Dravid featured in two 300 plus partnerships, within the span of a few months in 1999. He remains the only batsman to have such a feat. True to form and keeping with his entire career he was overshadowed in the first one by a stunning Ganguly knock, and in the second one by an equally brillaint knock from Sachin Tendulkar. He narrowly missed the record for the fastest fifty by an Indian during this innings. Nevertheless it was a stunning knock from a batsman who wasn't known to decimate bowling attacks.
While Dravid's test career has given us many memorable moments, his ODI career hasn't quite matched up to that. He's even had his only moment of controversy in his career during an ODI match in Australia. He is also responsible for this moment when Bill Lawry had one of his epic commentary moments. He wasn't too shabby a bowler in ODI's as well ! Guess after batting, wicket keeping and fielding , he can be forgiven for not showing or being allowed to show his bowling talents.
How would he be judged as an ODI player ?? His overall ODI record is pretty decent. Over 10 K runs at an average close to 40 at a strike rate just over 70. Not stunning numbers when compared to some of the other modern greats. Safe to say, the ODI arena wasn't the canvass to his liking and he bids farewell to it tomorrow.
Thanks Dravid for the memories you've provided.
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Hello hello hello how low ???
Coincidentally or not but on my iTunes play list Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana has started to play as I'm typing out this post. The chorus in the song makes for an apt title to the post.
First up, let me start off with a huge slice of humble pie. When the Indian innings finished, I tweeted this. Two hours later and I'm thinking how apt is the chorus to my post title . How did it come to this ?
England strolled to victory tonight. They could have easily chased another 20 runs without breaking sweat. What makes for fairly mind numbing thoughts is the fact that this England team had Samit Patel coming in at 5. He is a good striker of the ball but as yet unproven in the international arena. Following him would have been Ben Stokes, who is yet to have a bat having made his debut at Chester - le - street. Then the all rounders and bowlers. England were needing to go at over 8 runs per over from the start. Again I ask - how did they stroll to victory ?
The Indian bowling line up did miss a decent fifth bowler. Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar ( how he is in the X1 is a different issue , but he was), Munaf Patel and R Ashwin. That's four regular bowlers. Then there was Raina who bowls in ODI's. Agreed the pitch was placid and the outfield greasy from all the rain, and being a night game. Surely though the cushion of knowing that the batsman had done more than a decent job with setting England a target of 188 to get in 23 overs, should have given the bowlers a spring in their step ?
What transpired was insipid stuff. So much so, within 20 minutes of the run chase I tweeted this. How much of the form he showed today would Kieswetter take into the remaining three ODI's remains to be seen. Cook played a blinder 80* (63), proving that the 90 odd he hit against Sri Lanka at more than run a ball earlier in the summer was no flash in the pan. The whole bowling performance made for poor viewing. In reserves we have - Amit Mishra, RP Singh and another rookie in Varun Aaron.
Let's just say it's not looking too bright for the remaining three ODI's. The next one isn't quiet a must win , for sake of the series that is, but lose that and can easily see England winning the ODI series 4-0.
The second line of smell likes teen spirit goes - " it's fun to lose and to pretend ", and the song ends aptly with "a denial" in repeat.
Would those two lines come to define this whole English tour ??
First up, let me start off with a huge slice of humble pie. When the Indian innings finished, I tweeted this. Two hours later and I'm thinking how apt is the chorus to my post title . How did it come to this ?
England strolled to victory tonight. They could have easily chased another 20 runs without breaking sweat. What makes for fairly mind numbing thoughts is the fact that this England team had Samit Patel coming in at 5. He is a good striker of the ball but as yet unproven in the international arena. Following him would have been Ben Stokes, who is yet to have a bat having made his debut at Chester - le - street. Then the all rounders and bowlers. England were needing to go at over 8 runs per over from the start. Again I ask - how did they stroll to victory ?
The Indian bowling line up did miss a decent fifth bowler. Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar ( how he is in the X1 is a different issue , but he was), Munaf Patel and R Ashwin. That's four regular bowlers. Then there was Raina who bowls in ODI's. Agreed the pitch was placid and the outfield greasy from all the rain, and being a night game. Surely though the cushion of knowing that the batsman had done more than a decent job with setting England a target of 188 to get in 23 overs, should have given the bowlers a spring in their step ?
What transpired was insipid stuff. So much so, within 20 minutes of the run chase I tweeted this. How much of the form he showed today would Kieswetter take into the remaining three ODI's remains to be seen. Cook played a blinder 80* (63), proving that the 90 odd he hit against Sri Lanka at more than run a ball earlier in the summer was no flash in the pan. The whole bowling performance made for poor viewing. In reserves we have - Amit Mishra, RP Singh and another rookie in Varun Aaron.
Let's just say it's not looking too bright for the remaining three ODI's. The next one isn't quiet a must win , for sake of the series that is, but lose that and can easily see England winning the ODI series 4-0.
The second line of smell likes teen spirit goes - " it's fun to lose and to pretend ", and the song ends aptly with "a denial" in repeat.
Would those two lines come to define this whole English tour ??
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Hat tip to Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting today achieved a distinction which is simply staggering to comprehend. When Australia wrapped up the win against Sri Lanka in Galle, he become the first player to have won a 100 tests. Take a deep breath and let it sink in. One hundred test wins as a player.
Most international cricket players would consider playing a 100 tests to be a great achievement. It is. A testament to their skill set that has enabled them to get that far, their longevity in the game and crucially of course keeping themselves fit. Ricky Ponting has done all of this and more. The Galle test was his 153'th. He has been part of teams that has won 100 of them. To have won over 65 % of test matches is a stunning achievement for a player. Out of those 100 wins, 48 have come under his captaincy including the second streak of 16 consecutive wins that Australia achieved. The last of those wins was the infamous Sydney 2008 test, when this piece by Peter Roebuck called for his captaincy to be terminated.
Ponting made his test debut under Mark Taylor's captaincy when Australia were starting their reign at the top. This was followed by the Steve Waugh reign and he himself inherited the team in 2004. At the end of the Ashes 10/11 series which England won 3-1 and coinciding with Ponting's last test as captain, Australia had played over 170 tests, winning 111 of them. Fair to say his career has neatly coincided with that. What is more than impressive to note, is that in 100 of those his record is brilliant. Ponting has made over 8300 runs at an average close to 60. Words don't do justice to this achievement.
When you couple it with three consecutive world cup triumphs in the one day arena, two of those unbeaten under his captaincy and one begins to wonder. Doesn't Ricky Ponting have the best overall career as a player ? His on field demeanour and off field press quotes don't paint him in the best of light.One wonders if that aspect was toned down , wouldn't Ponting be on the same pedestal that everyone holds Steve Waugh amongst other Australians in ? As a batsman he is rated amongst the top three Australians. As an overall player though am not sure he gets the recognition he deserves. The mill stone of having lost three Ashes series as captain is one he will wear for ever. His captaincy hasn't been his greatest strength, but there aren't too many players who have had it all in their career. His fielding to date is a joy to watch. How much of it will get a mention when his career is summed up ? In my cricketing viewing , he is head and shoulders above any fielder.
On this day though, he has achieved one distinction which I think is going to be as near impossible to beat as the famous 99.94 average of Sir Donald Bradman or the batting statistics of Sachin Tendulkar. For that, Ricky Ponting deserves a hat tip from all.
Most international cricket players would consider playing a 100 tests to be a great achievement. It is. A testament to their skill set that has enabled them to get that far, their longevity in the game and crucially of course keeping themselves fit. Ricky Ponting has done all of this and more. The Galle test was his 153'th. He has been part of teams that has won 100 of them. To have won over 65 % of test matches is a stunning achievement for a player. Out of those 100 wins, 48 have come under his captaincy including the second streak of 16 consecutive wins that Australia achieved. The last of those wins was the infamous Sydney 2008 test, when this piece by Peter Roebuck called for his captaincy to be terminated.
Ponting made his test debut under Mark Taylor's captaincy when Australia were starting their reign at the top. This was followed by the Steve Waugh reign and he himself inherited the team in 2004. At the end of the Ashes 10/11 series which England won 3-1 and coinciding with Ponting's last test as captain, Australia had played over 170 tests, winning 111 of them. Fair to say his career has neatly coincided with that. What is more than impressive to note, is that in 100 of those his record is brilliant. Ponting has made over 8300 runs at an average close to 60. Words don't do justice to this achievement.
When you couple it with three consecutive world cup triumphs in the one day arena, two of those unbeaten under his captaincy and one begins to wonder. Doesn't Ricky Ponting have the best overall career as a player ? His on field demeanour and off field press quotes don't paint him in the best of light.One wonders if that aspect was toned down , wouldn't Ponting be on the same pedestal that everyone holds Steve Waugh amongst other Australians in ? As a batsman he is rated amongst the top three Australians. As an overall player though am not sure he gets the recognition he deserves. The mill stone of having lost three Ashes series as captain is one he will wear for ever. His captaincy hasn't been his greatest strength, but there aren't too many players who have had it all in their career. His fielding to date is a joy to watch. How much of it will get a mention when his career is summed up ? In my cricketing viewing , he is head and shoulders above any fielder.
On this day though, he has achieved one distinction which I think is going to be as near impossible to beat as the famous 99.94 average of Sir Donald Bradman or the batting statistics of Sachin Tendulkar. For that, Ricky Ponting deserves a hat tip from all.
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