Mother of All Battles

The most awaited day, most awaited match in one of the spectacular ODI tournaments to happen in recent past is about to take place in few hours time. Its the mighty Team India taking on the resolute Pakistan team to setup the first all Asian final at the ICC WC 2011.

The road to semi final so far has been interesting for both the teams. Pakistan truly looking like a team and in every match one warrior lifts his game up to march the team to victory. The batting has revolved around their bowling scoring enough runs to defend or finding a way to build parterships to see the team through amidst some shocking wicket keeping.

India on the other hand were always strong in their batting but the weakness was obviously their bowling. In their journey to the semi finals the batting mysteriously found a way to confuse people and making it difficult to judge which of their disciplines being the weaker ones (Fielding doesn't even find a mention here). In the quarterfinals all their disciplines struck a fine balance (including fielding) to make India look like a team to beat. They 'as a team' are on the way up in this World Cup.

So what should we expect today. The schedule of the tournament and gaps between the matches has ensured the euphoria reaches unfathomable proportions. Its a day when everybody is trying to do what they normally would not. And that is what a clash between these arch rivals does. There are companies though staring the FY close will be facing shortage of manpower and there are companies who for once don't want their employees to work, making arrangement to collectively enjoy the match, ICC trying to asphyxiate the media by denying them accredition for the semi final, our PM trying his best to make the event another political event.

Among all other distractions the two calm captains (Dhoni and Afridi) have tried best in their own styles to play down the pressure. Mind games have begun. Teams trying to have an advantage even before a single ball being bowled. There would be 22 warriors entering the arena each being aware that becoming the 'toast of the nation' is up for grabs but at the same time a minute mistake might turn the entire nation against you.

India enjoy the comfort of playing against the home crowd but that adds to the pressure as well. Indian batting looks a different class when compared to Pakistan's. But Pakistan have the depth required in the batting to compensate for the lack of big runs from their batting outfit. Pakistan enjoy a clear advantage in the fast bowling but there is very less to differentiate between the two teams in spin bowling (Due to Afridi's form and Bhajji's lack of it). Both teams boast of that unpredictability in the field. When the teams take field anticipation would be to witness a high octane battle between the strong Indian batting and Pakistani bowling. But today's match for once would not be decided by India's batting or Pakistan's bowling but by India's bowling and Pakistan's batting!! All set for a mouth watering contest!! The cup that counts.. a day which counts...

Bowlers Make All The Difference!!!

Boy its been a long time since my last blog! Things have changed so much! India has continued to perform well on a far more consistent basis than ever before (and no, its not just in the subcontinent :)); South Africa is giving Australia a run for their money to hold on to their number one spot (they have already been dethroned in the ODIs and are mighty close of losing out in the tests as well); England has managed to lose their way (yes, yet again!) after a glimmer of hope provided by Kevin Pietersen's brief stint as the England captain.

As I put my brain under some stress wondering what had been the common factor in all these changes, I came to this conclusion: Its the emergence of the bowlers (or decline in some cases) that has lead to these changes. Not that I have anything against the batsmen, but really, the batsmen have more or less been the same. Lets delve into a little bit more detail here.

Australia:
The ever dominating Australian side has now lost its numero uno status in the ODIs, and has also lost their last two Test series against their closest rivals, India and South Africa. The recent loss at home to South Africa was their first in the past decade or so. What changed? They lost two of the greatest bowlers in the history of cricket, Glenn Mcgrath and Shane Warne. It is going to be a Herculean task for the Aussie selectors to try and fill in the holes created by the retirement of these two legends. Their spin department is in a real sorry state, they have tried four spinners to fill in that gap, at least a part of it, but Krejza, Cullen, Hauritz, and White (I don't even think he qualifies as a spinner but the Aussie selectors do!) have all failed miserably. Brett Lee appeared to have taken a liking to being the spearhead of the Aussie attack, at least at the initial stages, but the wheels came off with some injuries as well as some personal issues forcing him to take a break from the game and loose the steam. Mitchell Johnson is fast, very fast, and very strongly built too, but he is not special. He gets wickets off the worst balls that he bowls and somehow has been able to carry the burden of the Aussie pace attack in the absence of Lee. Shaun Tait has talent, but the pressure at the highest level has been a bit too much for him. Stuart Clarke, who had the best potential to fill in the shoes of Glenn Mcgrath, has been struggling with injuries too. So not much has changed on the batting front, they lost Langer but found Simon Katich who has just been as consistent (surprising me, I must say!). Apart from that it has been the same batting line up with the exception of Adam Gilchrist. And personally, I think Gilly is just irreplaceable, you get those kind of players once in 50 years. They still have Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, Symonds, basically the core of their batting is still the same and can match the batting strength of any other team. The difference is that they haven't got a bowling attack that can take 20 wickets to win a test match.

South Africa:
South Africa has been by far the most improved team and has deservedly dethroned Aussies as the number one side in ODIs and is close to replace them as the top side in the tests as well. It has no doubt been South Africa's year. They haven't lost a test series in the past 14 months (they managed to draw the series against India in India). They beat the Aussies in Australia, they beat a confident England in England. I agree that Graeme Smith has been phenomenal, both as a captain and as a batsman, they have finally found a good batsman to bat at no. 3 (Amla, for me has been the most improved player in the last year and half). Jacques Kallis has had a bad run by his standards, but they have found JP Duminy (the find of the year). Again, not much has changed in their batting lineup. It is the bowling that has been the key to their recent rise. Dale Steyn has come out of nowhere, and has taken wickets in all kinds of conditions, be it on bouncy wickets in South Africa and Australia, swinging wickets in England, or dry, slow and low wickets in the subcontinent. He has been by far the bowler of the year. He has been aptly supported by the never tiring, ever chirpy Makhaya Ntini. They have also managed to find a good first change bowler in Morne Morkel, who is tall and hits the deck hard, hitting the 140 KMPH mark consistently. Even though they do not have a great spinner, they have stuck with Paul Harris and he has supported the fast bowlers by bowling a tight line and keeping the pressure on the batsmen. He has managed to chip in with crucial wickets on pitches that offer some help to the spinners. So again, the difference has been the bowling, to win you need to bowl out the opposition twice and they certainly have been doing that.

India:
India has been consistent in the last year and has been living up to the expectations that their fans have from them. There have been three very important changes in their set up. One, they have been blessed with MS Dhoni, he has been simply phenomenal. He is confident, audacious, level headed and of course talented. He has been the best thing that has happened to India since the batch of 73. Two, India has found a great opening pair in Virender Sehwag and GautamGambhir. Finally, Gambhir has been given his chance and he has held on to it firmly. The opening stands they have been providing to the famous Indian middle order has made a lot of difference and has shown in India's performance overseas. Third, and the most important one, India has found Ishant Sharma (the second best thing to have happened since the batch of 73). He has been instrumental in India's wins, specially overseas. He might not have the wickets to show for his efforts, he has bowled his heart out in the most trying conditions for a fast bowler. He also has a good head and has learnt quickly to adapt to the different bowling conditions. Zaheer Khan has finally come off age and has started to live up to his potential. Thanks to Greg Chappell and Kiran More, who threw him out of the team and made him understand the value of being fit and importance of performing consistently at the highest level. Hopefully, he won't forget the lessons learn in the near future and take his place for granted in the team. While Bhajji has been disappointing, Amit Mishra has been a pleasant surprise. He has at least partially filled in for the hole created in the spin department after Kumble's retirement. Kudos to the selectors, specially Narendra Hirwani, who gave him the chance that he truly deserved. Once again, it has been the bowling that has been the key in India's wins overseas. They have now got the firepower to dismiss the opposition twice.

On the other hand, West Indies, Pakistan and England (their bowlers keep blowing hot and cold) have been struggling to win matches as they continue their search for a crop of good bowlers who would perform in any kind of conditions with the capability of bowling the opposition out twice. I firmly believe (trust me, not just because I am a bowler myself) that sides with great batsmen and decent bowlers win a lot less than a side with great bowlers and decent batsmen. As the title goes, its the Bowlers who make all the difference!

Finally!!

December 15 has been a historic day for Indian Cricket in many ways. 75 hence to this day India hosted England at Bombay Gymkhana Ground in 1933 in what was the first test match to be played in India. 5 years back Rahul Dravid played a marvelous knock of 233, arguable the most valuable knock played by an Indian batsman in a match overseas, to setup an incredible Indian win in Adelaide. But it's today Sachin Tendulkar added an innings to his mazing CV which was missing all the while. Sachin today registered his first hundred chasing a target successfully in a Test Match. And what a moment he choose when India chased the highest target chased by any team on Indian soil and fourth highest overall. The value of his knock ws visible from the exuberance on his face and the joyous celebration. For once people did celebrate an Indian win rather than Sachin's century number XX. That itself is a testimony to the importance of the knock.



Its widely believed that a true test of batsman is in his ability to amass runs in the fourth innings of a Test match and that too on a 5th day wicket. Sachin has a poor record by his high standards. Among modern day greats Sachin till yesterday had no reply to a Brian Lara's majestic 153* or Ricky Ponting's 100*, 143* or 118*. Though Sachin played one of his best innings in Chennai 9 years back against Pakistan only to see his team loose in a tensed contest. Today's knock will be remembered in the same breath as that knock of 136 at the same venue, but Sachin would definitely value his knock today very high. Today Sachin seemed to remember every moment of that match and like a true genius made sure he didn't repeat the mistake he committed in that innings. Infact he was quick to advice Yuvi to stay put till the end when Yuvi played a loose shot of Monty Panesar. It was a controlled innings. It was fitting he brought up his hundred with a shot he invented after the back spasms he suffered at the same venue. His innings couldn't have been scripted better.

With today's innings Sachin stamped his greatness to silence few of his critics, including me :) But I wish there were few more of such innings. It may amaze people that it took him this long to score a hundred in a successful chase. Sachin had a perpetual habit of throwing it away when India needed a defining knowck. But if you get everything in life then you don't have the desire to achieve more. Even Sir Don failed to make those vital 4 runs in his last innings to achieve an average of 100. Its better late than never. I feel happy that Sachin finally added that missing link of a truly great champion. What else do we expect from the master batsman now. Probably a triple hundred if not a quadruple and a century in each innings of a match. Way to go...

Monopsony - Reason for lower wages in Domestic Cricket

Domestic cricketers in India can be labelled as poorer cousins of their counterparts in countries like England, Australia. Mulling into the reasons I came across an article sometime back which I tried to link with concepts of Microeconomics. One of the reasons is Monopsonic market for Cricket in India.

Monopsony referred to a market in which there is a single buyer. A monopsonist has the market power to set the price of whatever it is buying unlike a perfect competition where no individual buyer is big enough to affect the market price of anything. It is a buyer's monopoly (on the demand side). A common theoretical implication of monopsony is that the price of the good is pushed down near the cost of production. The price is not predicted to go to zero because if it went below where the suppliers are willing to produce, they won't produce.

A monopsony producer has significant buying power in the labour market when seeking to employ extra workers. A monopsony employer may use their buying-power to drive down wage rates.
Examples of monopsonic employers might be employer in a small town (a car plant, a major supermarket or the head office of a bank), nursing homes as employers of care assistants. The government also has monopsony power as the major employer in the teaching profession.
Another example in Indian context of a monopsonic employer would be the Indian Cricket Board – Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Playing cricket in India as a full time profession involves very high risk. Perhaps there are thousands of talented cricketers who struggle through life, while the money that can be earned from playing the game gets concentrated with a few dozen cricketers who make it to the international level. This market is made special is because there is only one buyer of their skills. The BCCI is a part of buyers' cartel. In a monopsonic market of BCCI you either are selected to play for the national team or you are confined to play domestic cricket in India where the money earned by players is much below what they should get to consider cricket as a full time profession. A cricketer not selected to play for any of the associated clubs of BCCI has no choice available. Whereas any attempt to provide competition is dealt with hostility as seen in the ICL–IPL face-off.

Changing Times!!!

As the cricket world takes a break for a change, I got an opportunity to think about what has been going on with the teams and cricket in general. There have been a lot of changes, introduction of T-20, introduction of the review system in test matches (tried out in India vs SL series in SL) but topping all that is the change in leadership for most of the teams. Some have been impressive some have not, some might taste success and some might not. Here is what I think is happening with various teams and my thoughts on them.

Australia:
Aussies have been at the helm of the game in all forms of cricket (barring T-20) for quite some time now. Obviously they had the best players of all times in their team but with Warne, Mcgrath, Gilchrist and Langer gone, they are undergoing a rebuilding stage. Mike Hussey and Michael Clarke have been the backbone of their batting order both in Tests and ODIs with Ricky Ponting playing his best cricket in recent years. Also they have seen a lot more committed and sincere Symonds who has been an asset in the lower middle order. It is going to be difficult to find players to replace the legends but they are headed in the right direction. With Phil Jaques coming in for Langer, he has done pretty well thus far in the tests. He still has to be tested against good spin bowling but I think he will be a good opening batsman for Australia with some more experience under his belt. With Hayden having fitness troubles, one doubts whether he will be able to continue for a long time and hence the Aussie selectors need to find another opener (both in ODIs and Tests). They have tried Katich, who has been scoring tons of runs in their domestic circuit but has been a bit inconsistent at the international level. On the bowling front, they have not suffered a lot in the fast bowling department though. Bret Lee has had a meteoric rise and has handled the role of being the lead bowler for the Aussies admirably well. He has been prolific over the last 18 months and has been a big factor in helping Aussies to maintain their supremacy. And then comes the most important part, the captain, Ricky Ponting has enjoyed a very successful stint as the captain, with two ODI world cups and being the best in the test arena as well. But I think he is not a great captain, he has been found wanting in situations where Aussies have been in trouble. He seems to have very limited plans and runs out of ideas when he has to think quickly on his feet. He has been winning as he has had the best players in the side. The Aussie selectors do a commendable job in preparing for the future and have been grooming Michael Clarke as the next captain. He has taken to the responsibility really well and seems to be an exciting prospect to lead Aussies after Ponting's reign is over.

England:
England has had a very poor run in the recent past, both in ODIs as well as the Test matches. Especially when Michael Vaughan was the captain. He was indeed a good captain who had revived England but had nothing more to offer and was running out of ideas as captain. He failed to inspire the team and lost badly to NZ and SA. He was struggling for form with the bat as well which put added pressure on him and he failed to fight off that pressure and finally gave up the captaincy after the series against SA was lost. He could be back as a batsman if he regains his form with the bat, provided his dodgy knees hold on. Flintoff has made yet another comeback and this time it seems he is going to be fit for a while. He has had the frustration of having the same ankle trouble again and again but with the recent performances in Tests and ODIs against SA it seems he is back to his best and is enjoying playing cricket. Ian Bell has been doing well recently and has been a lot more consistent providing solidarity in the middle order. The top order seems settled with Cook and Strauss in the tests. They still need to find a batsman who can fill up the gap at No. 3 in the ODIs. Flintoff has been bowling really well, his spell against Kallis was superb and rejuvinated the England side providing them a much needed boost. And the most important thing to have happened to England - Captaincy for Kevin Peitersen. He has brought a much needed confidence and arrogance to his side. He has been able to inspire the team well and it seems that England now takes the field with only one thing in mind - to win. Peitersen has always been confident about himself and perhaps that has rubbed on to his team. He has backed Harmison to the hilt giving him confidence, and even talking him out of retirement from the ODIs. Harmison has returned the favor by delivering a much improved performance against SA. He took the old ball in the ODIs which I think is best for him. Anderson and Broad have been doing decent job with the new ball with Flintoff and Harmison being the first and second change bowlers. KP has also placed confidence in Owais Shah who has been in and out of the side due to incosistant performances and also limited opportunities. KP has promised him a longer stint and it seems to have worked for now. This means its worrying times for Paul Collingwood as he has not been missed at all in the ODIs and perhaps it is going to be hard for him to keep his place. Peitersen himself has been playing brilliantly with no signs of his batting being affected by the added burden of captaincy. In fact it seems to have challenged him and he always meets the challenges head on. Thats the nature of the beast. Hoefully, the success will continue for some time and England will prove to be a good test for Aussies in the upcoming Ashes.

South Africa:
South Africa has been the second best team for a while, behind Australia. The Proteas took a gamble with Graeme Smith as the captain and the gamble has paid off in grand style. They have enjoyed success in the tests but have been facing problem in ODIs ever since the retirement of Shaun Pollock. Smith has been good with the bat, leading from the front, scoring a match winning ton against England to finally get the elusive test series victory. Hashim Amla seems to have settled well into the no.3 position in the tests and has been quite consistent off late. He had a really good series in India. Kallis like Dravid for India, has been struggling for form off late. This year has been really bad for him. But it was bound to happen as the current poor form has come after almost a decade of relentless run scoring. He has been like a run scoring machine in the last decade, and this poor form only proves that he is human. I am sure he will fight back hard, he put in extra effort in his bowling to compensate with the poor form with the bat. He was the most successful bowler in the recently concluded series against England. Talking of bowling, Ntini has been the mainstay of the SA attack for the past decade but the age has started to catch up on him. He has lost a few yards in pace and has been a lot less penetrative than SA would have liked. Morne Morkel seems an exciting prospect and promises to be a long term prospect for SA. They have enjoyed the success of their new pace sensation - Dale Steyn. He has been the most successful fast bowler in the tests and has been consistant thus far. If Ntini manages to get back to his best then the opening pair can be quite a handful for the rest of the teams. The proteas are immensely missing Shaun Pollock, specially in the ODIs as he was their stock bowler who could choke up the runs. It has been a huge setback for them and Morkel has to work a lot harder to fill that gap. The form of AB deVilliers seems to be a problem as well. He is a good talent but has been very inconsistent. He did score a big hundred in the recent test series, but needs to be a lot more consistent for SA to keep being competitive in the near future. Boucher has been a great servant for the Proteas and continues to be a good contributor with the bat, although not quite in the league of Adam Gilchrist, he gives the same value to the team as Gilly did for Aussies. And finally, the captain Graeme Smith. He has handled the captaincy really well and has managed to avoid the added burden to affect his batting. In fact, he has regained his form and has been their best batsman recently, leading from the front. The tennis elbow however has been a set back, but that gives him the opportunity to take a break and focus on the series against the Aussies.

Sri Lanka:
Lanka have been doing quite well off late. The main reason being the super success of their 'Mystery Bowler' Ajantha Mendis. Batmen have struggled to pick him up and he along with Murali have been to much to handle for the batsmen on the subcontinent pitches. It will be interesting to see though, how effective Mendis will be on overseas wickets where the pitches don't offer any turn. Will SL give preference to Mendis over Murali on pitches outside Subcontinent, as playing two spinners in side will be a remote possibility on such pitches. It will be interesting times for the selectors and the management. Sri Lanka has been fortunate that the role of captaincy seems to have helped Mahela Jayawardene's batting as well. The additional responsibility has made him a lot more consistent batsman and he has been their leading batsman for the past few years along with Kumar Sangakara. They are still sorting out their top order in tests as well as the ODIs while Jayasuriya's career is nearing its end, his recent form has been good. They have a bunch of new bowlers but none seem to be exceptional. Lastih Malinga has been struggling with injuries since the WC and has been out of the squad. Vaas is towards the fag end of his illustrious career for SL. He has been a great servant for SL cricket and recently joined the 400 club in the ODIs, being only the 4th bowler to do so. Over all, I think SL will do well in Subcontinent where they can play 2 spinners in the team but will continue to struggle overseas. Unless they find a good pair of fast bowlers to share the new ball, it is going to be a tough period for them in the near future.

New Zealand:
New Zealand has always amazed me with their competitiveness. They have such a small pool of cricketers and still they keep on being a competitive side and give the best sides a run for their money. Daniel Vettori has been a decent captain thus far. It has been a really tough task for him to take over from Stephen Flemming, one of the best captains they have produced. But he has taken to the responsibility well and has improved on his batting to become a handy lower order batsman. His bowling has been as reliable as ever and being a spinner he has backed Jetan Patel to be his spin partner when the pitches have favored the spinners. Batting has been their main concern though, with Hamish Marshal quitting and no Flemming, their batting is their biggest weakness. Jacob Oram has been struggling for form adding to their troubles. On the bowling front, Chirs Martin and Kyle Mills have been doing a decent job with no services from Bond available anymore. Tim Southee has been their new star with the ball, coming in from the under-19 ranks and making a good impression at the highest level. Jessie Ryder seems to be an exciting prospect as well, but he needs to overcome his disciplinary problems to make his stay a longer one. Their best batsman, Ross Taylor, has loads of talent and can be in the same league as Martin Crowe, but needs to work hard on his concentration and temperament to be more consistent and hold up the NZ batting line together. In all, I think they will continue to compete as they have been doing for a long time.

West Indies:
West Indies really been struggling since their glory days. They have sliding down in the rankings and with lack of investment and basic infrastructure for developing the game they once ruled, it has been really sad to see them in such a state. However, things have started to look up a bit, with a small flash of light at the end of the tunnel. Shivnarain Chanderpaul has been Bradmanesque in the recent months and has tried his best to fill in the void created by Lara's retirement. He has been supported well by Ramnaresh Sarwan and these two form the backbone of Windies middle order. At the top Chirs Gayle has been doing well and his presence makes the team feel a lot more stronger. While Dwayne Bravo has been their best player, a true all rounder, contributing with the bat, ball and in the field. He provides the spark in the side. Another one to have joined him recently is Xavier Marshal. He fearlessness had caught Ausies off guard, him going after Bret Lee was a rare site to see and the ploy coming good was even more joyful to watch. He seems to be of the Virender Sehwag mould, who really doesn't care abt the situation and just trusts his style of play to take him through. If he comes good and manages to stay focused he can easily be their next star player. On the bowling side, Taylor and Edwards have started to settle down into their roles in the test arena, while Darren Powell seems to be settled in the ODI squad to support Taylor. However their is no backup and if anyone gets injured, it is very difficult for Windies to put up a fight against top teams. I think they are heading in the right direction but the selectors need to get over the politics and sponsorship struggles to keep up the rebuilding of the team and move in the direction of regaining the old glory days.

India:
India has had one of their worst batting displays in a test series in the subcontinent since I don't know when. The great India middle order was referred to as a Muddle Order for the lack of application and pathetic failures against the spin duo of Mendis and Murali. Even the hugely experienced Dravid, Sachin and Ganguly struggled to solve the mystery of Mendis and threw in the towel rather tamely, to much chagrin of the Indian fans. And the fact that the young ODI side was able to adapt to the spin duo without the experience has done the work of adding the fuel to the speculation that a change is needed in the test side. I agree that the change needs to happen, no doubt, but is it the right time to do so? Not quite. India should rely on the Famous Four to pull up their socks and show their class against the mighty Aussies in the home series. It will also give them the opportunity to redeem themselves and also the time to think about their future plans. I will not be surprised if one or two seniors announces his retirement after the Aussie series. However, if there is no improvement then the selectors need to look towards the change. The chief selector, Dilip Vengsarkar, admirably, has admitted that some of the youngsters are ready for test cricket. It is a big statement to make, hopefully, it will shake up the Fab Four and we will be able to see a much better performance from them. The selectors need to blood in the players once in a while to give them a feel for what lies ahead for them. This can be done by resting the senior players against the minnows or even when playing a dead rubber. I feel Yuvraj Singh needs to be given the same treatment as Veeru, Ganguly and Zaheer to make him work hard and ask him to make atrocious statements about his future plans. He talks about being a regular in the test team by the end of this year, while I see him struggling to keep his place even in the ODI side. If only the desire to be in the test team for India was a criterion for selection then I would not have been sitting here and writing this blog! Trust me. India has Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and S. Badrinath as the fringe players who have been doing well recently. I believe the selectors have not done justice to Badrinath for all the hard work he has been doing for the past three years. He has been among the top scorers in the domestic circuit and really deserved a test call up. He has been ignored and Yuvraj has been given chances, which he has been sqaundering again and again. On the bowling front, Ishant Sharma should get better with experience, he really toiled hard on the dead Lankan pitches and bent his back to help India to win the second test. I was heartening to see that. Zaheer was ordinary in the tests but gained his rhythm in the ODIs. In fact all the bowlers bowled well in the ODIs. Munaf was perfect as the first change, I think he needs to be backed up and given confidence. He really can be a good ODI bowler for India, if groomed well. The biggest concern for India is in the spin bowling department. It is a surprise as India have always been good in that department. With Kumble towards the end of a stellar career, Harbhajn Singh is pitted as the lead spinner for India in the future. That is worrying me the most. Harbhajan has become more of a ODI bowler and has lost his magic in the tests. His loop is long gone, with the trajectory getting flatter and the speed getting quicker. He has been consistently inconsistent, and get a 5-for only if the opposition batsmen help by playing rash shots and the pitch is a square turner. Hopefully, Pagyan Ojha or Piyush Chawla will be able to raise their standards and help fill in the big hole that will be created once Kumble retires. On the captaincy front, the choice is easy. Dhoni has been amazing, he has a great understanding of the game and he backs his instincts. He also has amazingly adapted to the need of the hour by bringing himself up the order and curbing his natural instincts to pummel the bowlers. He has managed to to so without having to compromise on the rate at which he scores the runs. He runs hard and takes plenty of singles and twos when offered. He has been a true blessing for Indian Cricket. He has been able to inspire the youngsters in the side and backs them to the hilt. Virat Kohli's call up to the ODI team was a surprise, no doubt, even I thought it to be an outrageous move, but Dhoni backed him and gave him the confidence which he has repaid well till now. India may also have to look back at Mohd. Kaif to get in some experience in the test squad for the future. He needs to grab the opportunity with both hands and needs to give consistent good performances in the domestic season to be considered for the opportunity that is sure to present itself in the near future. I hope that selectors will not look at the short term results and take the bold, but right decisions.

Pakistan:
There is really nothing to write about them. I just wonder how they are able to play cricket when the whole country is in such a mess. Really amazing!

Is time ticking fast for the Batch of 1973?

The setback to India in the recently concluded Test series has raised many questions in minds of Indian cricket followers. The 'strong' Indian middle order looked 'muddle order' and failed miserably in the Test Series withSachin, Rahul and Saurav together scoring less than what Virender Sehwag alone did in the entire series. But has the success of the young ODI team in the following ODI series tried to answer few of the questions? I personally thought the collective failure of the Indian middle order as one of those series where they failed to live to their potential but the success of the ODI team has pressed me to give it a second thought.



Traditionally India has had some wonderful batsman right from Ranjit Singhji, Lala Amarnath, Vijay Hazare,Vinoo Mankad, Sunny Gavaskar, Gundappa Vishwanath and Mohd. Azharuddin. But the current middle order has been one of the strongest in the history of Indian Cricket and perhaps world cricket. It has been pleasing to watch the Batch of 1973 donning Indian colours together and giving us some memorable moments in Test cricket and bringing about a turnaround in the fortunes of Indian Cricket. They have been instrumental in changing the perception of the Indian Team from poor travellers to one of the most competitive teams playing away from home. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly along with VVS Laxman have stood firm and delivered consistently over the last decade. I am sure many Indian fans would feel as proud as I do aboutKolkata (2001), Kandy (2001), Leeds (2002), Adelaide (2003), Multan and Rawalpindi (2004), Kolkata (2005),Jamaica (2005), Johannesburg (2006), Trent Bridge (2007) and Perth (2007).

But should we read something in the failure of our strong middle order in the last two series. Probably its time to do a SWOT analysis.

The trio have distinguished records having scored close to 27000 Test runs between them with two (Rahul andSachin) averaging close to 55. Not long back Sachin returned from Down Under as the top scorer with two centuries and maximum runs he ever scored in any Test Series throughout his career. Dravid has seen one of his worst bad patches in the past 2 years but has chipped in with important innings like the one in Perth andChennai. Saurav played an one of his best test innings on a mine field at Kanpur to square the series against South Africa.

There is no doubt about their caliber and their contribution to the Indian team but the threat to the Indian team is they are not getting any younger. The T20 has influenced cricket in a big way and has increased the pace of the game and it has its effect on Tests and ODIs as well. Fitness is extremely important in today's context and fielding standards of the teams across the world increasing by the day, the batch of 1973 are not really the best to have on the field. Dravid has been extremely safe at slips, Sachin energetic at his best. Past couple of years have shown enough to believe that reflexed of Sachin and Dravid are not what they were few years back. Rahulhas spilled some dollies and Sachin is getting injured more often than he has been in the past. One needs to give them the credit for being so fit for more than a decade with so much cricket being played. Saurav has never been a good athelete and his bowling does not offer much variety either. This has made him a one dimensional player. The failure of all three to adapt to spin bowling in the recent series has raised doubts about the future of these stalwarts of Indian Cricket. One needs to give credit to Muthiah Muralitharan and Ajatha Mendis with the latter surprising the Indian middle order with this unconventional varieties. But the Indians with so much experience behind them and considered to be the best players of spin bowling were unable to decipher the puzzle Mendis and Co (not Muralitharan and Co) threw at them. The intent and application seem to be missing. Indians failed to capitalise on the good starts provided by the openers similar to what had happened when Indians last toured Sri Lanka in 2001.

Imagine a situation when the three would leave Test Cricket and India losing on experience of more than 350 test matches put together. It would create a huge void in the evergreen Indian middle order. The situation would be similar to what Australia faced in 1984 with retirement of Greg Chappell, Kim Huges and Dennis Lilllee in January 1984. It took Australia almost a decade to be a force to reckon in World Cricket post 1984. India with its set up can face a much worse situation. Indian cricket administrators with their vision shorter than memory of Indian cricket fans don't seem to look very far. The problem is India would not like a situation where they have to loose so much of experience within a short span of time. ODI is a different ball game than test cricket. Replacing players of calibers of Sachin, Rahul and Saurav can be no easy tasks. Test cricket throws its own set of challenges where a bowler is not tied with limited overs to bowl at a batsman and rules and pitches increasingly favouring batsman. In ODI's players probably have to worry about 10 overs of Ajantha Mendis and can plan to score against the rest of the attack, but in Test cricket a bowlers comes at you as long as he likes.

Has the time arrived to break the 'Fab Four' as it is called and blood youngsters into the rusty middle order? This can be tricky given the next series this winter against the mighty World Champions. Or does these great batsman deserve another chance to redeem themselves as the best middle order in the world. The current Indian team has had a habit to raise their game when pitted against the best. Playing against the mighty Australians should be motivating enough for Sachin, Rahul and Saurav. Sachin and Rahul have extremely good records against the Aussies and have always lived up to the challenge. It was against the same opposition in 2001 thatRahul Dravid emerged out of his self imposed shackles to script an amazing turnaround in the history of the game with VVS Laxman in Kolkata. Sachin has carried a threat with his name and has been a pain forAustralians most of the time (though his second inning performance in tests have been indifferent by his standards). Sachin and Rahul have been two giant pillars of Indian middle order for the past decade. This leavesSaurav who has made an amazing comeback to the Indian team as the weakest link. I believe somebody needs to talk to our senior players and carve out a plan and help shape their future and of Indian team.

A look at the alternatives is necessary before jumping the gun and closing doors on anybody.

• Yuvraj Singh has established himself as a premier ODI player for India but in Test matches he has been patchy. He has his problems against quality spin bowling and bouncy pitches. Off late he speaks more than he scores :)
• M S Dhoni is a very good leader and brilliant ODI player but he still needs to establish himself in Test matches to earn the respect he needs to lead the side.
• Rohit Sharma has shown promise during the ODI series down under but he needs to tighten his technique and show the hunger for runs to replace players of such high quality.
• S Badrinath has shown promise while handling spin in his first ODI and has been consistent in domestic matches
• Suresh Raina has learnt the lesson the harder way and is showing how good a player he is. He has shown the tendency to throw his wicket away after establishing himself at the crease
• Mohd. Kaif though he doesn't feature in the memory of Indian selectors but is a hard working cricketer who has the experience of representing the country

The options India has are good but they need to be nurtured and mentored to really serve Indian Cricket for a long time. I feel its time for the selectors to blood maybe one of the youngsters in the middle order. This should shake the middle order a bit and create a window for a youngster. Rahul (if he overcomes his own apprehensions and comes out being the wall of Indian middle order) and Sachin (as nobody in Indian Cricket has guts to show the door to him) I believe have another year or two of cricket remaining. After all Steve Waugh and Shane Warnewere fit enough to stretch their careers beyond 38. The youngsters will in return learn a lot from our experienced middle order and will be ready by the time our senior batsman decide to call it a day.

The success of the young Indian ODI team I feel is one of the best things to happen to Indian Cricket in recent times. It has put pressure on the Indian middle order to perform or perish. If they push the middle order to redeem themselves as the best middle order in the series against the Australians then they would add another crowning glory to their distinguished careers. That would be another proud moment for Indian Cricket. If the middle order fails then it simply makes the job of the Indian selectors easier. But do they have the guts and the vision to comply, time will be the best judge!!!

Yuvraj Singh - All Talent No Deliverance

India being a cricket crazy nation and thousands of youngsters taking up the game dreaming of making it big one day and representing the Indian Cricket team, it is not surprising that every now and then it keeps on producing some fresh new faces (more so in case of batting) with a potential of being a good player at the highest level. But they go as they come and the search for the new potential great players with the ability to take up the mantle from the batch of 73 (Sachin, Saurav and Rahul) still continues. Among these youngsters was a player with immense talent and his potential of being a great player for India was recognized by anyone who saw him bat in the U-19 World Cup in January 2000. It was none other than Yuvraj Singh, the tall, lanky left hander with a lazy demeanor who would transform into a stylish, hard hitting yet classy and a fearless batsman with the bat in his hand. He dominated the bowling attacks in the WC and easily built a reputation of being a match winner with the ability to clear the boundary with ease and at will. Winning the U-19 World Cup provided him the perfect launch pad to perform and get noticed by the National Selection Committee to earn a call up for the national duty. His performances did not go unnoticed and he was immediately sent to the then newly formed National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

India, known for its tradition of blooding players at a very young age, Yuvraj did not have to wait long to represent the Indian team in colored clothing. He made his debut against Kenya at Nairobi, in the ICC Knockout Trophy in Oct. 2000, billed as the "Mini World Cup". He did not get much of a chance in that game but it was the next match that marked his arrival onto the big stage. It was the perfect set up to stamp his authority and cement his place in the ODI team, and he delivered in grand style. It was the quarterfinal against Australia, with India being put in to bat. Yuvraj batting at the number 5 position, came in to join Vinod Kambli at the crease with the team in a precarious situation having lost the big three (Sachin, Saurav and Rahul) with the score at 90. Yuvraj occupied the crease and played one his most memorable innings in the ODIs. He scored a jaw dropping 84 in only 80 balls, never showing any nerves of playing against the World Champions in a knock out match. He played his natural game with much aplomb, taking the attack to the Aussie bowlers even though the wickets fell regularly at the other end. He helped India to a decent total of 265 that India managed to successfully defend. As a result Yuvraj became an overnight star and it was as if he was destined to become the next big thing in Indian Cricket.

However, as everything that shines is not gold, Yuvraj's scintillating performance was only a momentary flash of brilliance that he could not produce on a regular basis. The failures and inconsistency were attributed to his youth and lack of experience and over the years the selection committees always backed him to come good and deliver based on his talent. He kept on struggling for consistency but kept on producing a match winning innings that would re-affirm the faith and trust that the Indian fans and the selectors showed in him. One such innings was in the Natwest Series Final at Lord's against England where the hosts had scored 325/5 with the help of fine centuries by their captain Nasser Hussain and opener Marcus Trescothick. It was always going to be a formidable total for Indians to chase but they set up the chase in the best possible manner with Virender Sehwag and Captain Sourav Ganguly providing a flying start. The duo had an opening stand of 106 in a little over 14 overs. Ganguly went first and was soon followed by Sehwag allowing England to get back into the game. The next 3 batsmen could add only 40 runs to the total and India was looking at a big defeat being 146-5 even before the 25 overs mark was reached. Yuvraj Singh and Mohd. Kaif played the innings of their lives building a partnership of 121 runs from just 17.4 overs. Yuvraj again showed no fear and played his natural attacking game scoring 69 off 63 balls studded with 9 fours and a six. Although Mohd. Kaif played equally well, the finesse in Yuvraj's strokes was breathtaking. He took the attack to the English bowlers who had no clue where to bowl him at. Again, the hopes were raised in the hearts of Indian fans that a prospective legend had finally matured and understood his responsibility. It was all too flattering to deceive as Yuvraj failed to gain any consistency, yet again.

India then were fortunate to get Greg Chappell as coach in 2005, who emphasized on selecting a team based on performance and not on reputation. He had made it clear that one had to perform well to be in the team and would remain in the team only if one performed consistently at the highest level. Many players including Yuvraj had criticized this policy alleging that the players were under too much pressure to perform. But as some of the senior players were shown the door based on their poor performances, players did not have any other choice but to perform well. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Yuvraj as he had the best three years of his cricketing career under Greg Chappell. He appeared to have matured and become responsible after being appointed as the Vice Captain of the ODI team. He averaged 41.95, 53.06 and 45.96 in 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively. This was the longest run of consistency that he has exhibited in his entire cricketing career till now. Once Greg Chappell's term as the coach got over (after the early exit from the WC 2007) Yuvraj Singh appears to have gone back to his old ways, playing short, exquisite innings reminding everyone of how gifted a player he is, but getting out playing reckless and irresponsible shots way too often to get dismissed cheaply. He has failed to show any grit and determination to struggle it out in the middle if the batting conditions are not favorable, his weakness against quality spin bowling has become even worse. It seems he has failed to put in any amount of effort to work on his batting against spin bowling as his weakness against a turning ball has become way too obvious and one is not surprised to see him being easily foxed by the spinners. Off late he has been able to get high scores only against weaker sides on flat batting tracks of the subcontinent. The only exception being the T20 World Cup where he played some memorable innings in crucial matches. But the Australian tour that followed was his worst and he struggled to get a decent score throughout the tour (including the practice games, test matches and the Tri-Series).

What has been disturbing even more is the way he has been publicly speaking of harbouring dreams of being the ODI captain of India. He should just have a look at his batting record, he has been playing for Indian for 9 years and still at no point in his career till date has his career batting average touched 40 (which is considered the benchmark for good players). It would be much more beneficial for him personally as well as the Indian fans if he let his bat do the talking instead of using his mouth. It has been baffling to see his statements about critics slamming him for his partying ways off the field, defending it as his personal life and stating that he wants to live his life to the fullest. Well, no one really cares what he does off the field as long as he performs well on it. It is high time the Indian selectors took a heed of things going on with Yuvraj and make him aware of his run scoring duties. Make him realize that playing for India is not a child's play and demands a lot of discipline on personal level. The fans have been patient thus far but I guess their patience has started to give away as well, that is the reason it did not surprise anyone when he was dropped from the test side that has been picked for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. It is really important for him to realize this at the earliest or else he will be forgotten soon and will be an addition to the long list of cricketers who had the talent but could not leave their mark at the highest level. He has been fortunate enough to have survived for 9 years at the highest level, but it seems that even the time is running out on him.