England's Run Machine!!!

The third Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham against Pakistan saw England captain Alastair Cook creating history as he became the highest run getter for England across all the three formats surpassing Kevin Pietersen’s tally of 13779 international runs. For a person who loves stats and likes to analyze the numbers would easily be overwhelmed by Cook’s numbers as his Test runs, hundreds and averages are significantly but equally distributed across each and every opponent and under various diverse conditions.

With 10,557 runs in 132 matches, he scores almost 80 runs per Test match which certainly puts him in the list of Test match greats, but his numbers in Asia are something that are really out of the box. In an era where people have found it harder and harder to score runs in Asia, Alastair Cook has not only outclassed his contemporaries but also those who came before him. With 8 hundreds in Asia, the highest number of centuries by a non-Asian batsman, Cook’s tally of 2252 runs at 60.21 in Asia is simply phenomenal. Perhaps, Hashim Amla is the only one amongst the current crop of non-Asian batsmen who can challenge Cook’s stature as far as batting in Asia is concerned.

Cook showed glimpses of greatness when he scored 104 at Nagpur in his debut Test

So, what’s so special about Alastair Cook? Are his numbers that very much define Alastair Cook or is it his calm and serene presence at the crease that gives us a belief that batting is still all about application and determination. Well, though it is true that his numbers as well his calming presence at the crease speak a lot about him, the aura that very surrounds Alastair Cook is by his monk-like attitude towards the game. He is just unfazed or unaffected by any kind of situation whatsoever. Neither he becomes too ecstatic after getting to a hundred nor looks too disappointed at getting out for a duck. His mind still works like a student of the game even when he is 200 not out and at the same time, always seems to have that belief of getting a big score next time around whenever he falls cheaply. Now you need that kind of attitude to succeed, don’t you? To one, Cook may seem an old-fashioned, one-dimensional, dull or boring batsman, but he gets those hard runs and is willing to put the hard grind every time he walks out to bat. Be it Galle against Sri Lanka in 2007 or Gabba in the first Ashes Test in 2010 or Ahmedabad against India in 2012, Cook has always thrived under the toughest of the situations. In fact, he has this habit of conquering such extremely challenging situations and on the way, he has not only led the English side from the front but also taught them how to bat under such demanding circumstances.

Chef’s career so far in his England T-shirt has not at all been easy and his batting has been questioned and his captaincy been scrutinized, but, he let his bat and tactics on the field do the talking. The way he bounced back from the biggest lows of his career to reach the new heights has been remarkable. Taking you back to the summer of 2010, after having a disastrous time with the bat throughout the summer, Cook was just an innings away from being dropped in the third Test against Pakistan at The Oval. But a resilient second-innings hundred against a good Pakistani bowling attack just somehow ensured his place in the side. And what followed then was simply incredible. He just needed that bit of a hiccup where his back was against the wall and then came the runs galore. The Ashes series that followed saw Alastair Cook producing 766 runs in 5 Tests down under which included three centuries and that certainly played a massive role in England winning the Ashes down under after 24 long years.

Cook's unbeaten 235 at Gabba set the tone for England as they went to win the Ashes series down under after 24 years

Moving on to the summer of 2014, Cook again faced one of the biggest lows of his career when England lost the second Test to India at Lord’s.  With Cook in an awful form and England team going nowhere, Cook-the batsman as well as Cook-the captain were in crises and calls of sacking him as a captain were spreading like wildfire not only around the British media but also around the cricketing fraternity. But, in spite of all the criticism and negative publicity, Cook remained calm and managed to maintain his composure and was all but determined to turn the things around at Southampton in the third Test. So, champions don’t give it up, do they? And   Cook worked extremely hard on his game, especially on his forward press and scored a fighting 95 on the first day. Yes, those were ugly runs, not at all anywhere near to his best, but runs are runs and most importantly, he led the team from the front. He followed it up with an unbeaten 70 in the second innings and England went on to win the Test match as well. Cook was back, back amongst the runs and perhaps for the first time since Ashes 2013 down under, looked the Cook we knew so well. Smiling, confident and doing what he knows the best, bat and bat and bat.

Between May 2013 to April 2015, perhaps were the toughest two years of Chef’s career where he went without a Test century for 35 long Test innings. The boy who raced to 25 Test centuries indeed had to wait for a long, long time for his 26^th. In the same time, Cook not only lost his One-day captaincy but also lost his spot in the one-day team and was sacked just prior to 2015 World Cup down under. But, either sides of these two years, Cook had a wonderful time with the bat. His records are just the testimony to his hard work, determination, application and consistency. To add to it, the fact that he has been the opener throughout his career only glorifies his achievements as the life as an opener is never easy.

His Test career so far has been remarkable and is a highlight in itself, but the Ashes series down under in 2010 and the winter series against India in India in 2012  where he scored three consecutive hundreds are some of the glorious moments of his illustrious career. He has already scored over 10,500 Test runs and is only 31 and if he keeps himself fit and is as hungry as ever, no one can stop him from playing for another 5 to 6 years. And if he does so, we could see some of the records in Test Cricket being given a serious scare. Well, that’s the thing for a debate may be sometime later, as of now it’s time to salute England’s run machine- Alastair Cook, the England’s all time run getter!!!

England mark a comeback with a thumping victory!

Alastair Cook and his boys put a full stop to all the clouds and doubts surrounding England’s inability to play spin and about how are they going to tackle the leggie Yasir shah by registering an authoritative 330-run victory over Pakistan at Old Trafford, Manchester in the second Test. England were solid right from the word go and in a way won the match on the very first day when captain Cook led from the front with a sublime hundred, 29^th of his career and Joe Root remained unbeaten on 141 in England’s tally of 314/4 at stumps on day 1. Pakistan’s first Test’s hero Yasir Shah looked hapless on day 1 and his toil continued even on day 2, when England and in-particular Joe Root took him to the cleaners and smashed him all around the park. Root’s magnificent 254 and with some useful contributions from Woakes, Bairstow and Stokes down the order, England piled up massive 589/8 before they declared their first innings.

Man of the match: Joe Root

With a deficit of 589 runs, it was obviously tough for Pakistan, but no one expected them to crumble like they did late on day 2 and in the morning session on day 3. England’s bowling attack was bolstered by the addition of their premiere swing bowler James Anderson and all-rounder Ben Stokes. But the bowler who did most of the damage for England was Chris Woakes, the man who looks to be on a mission and just can’t do anything wrong at the moment. With opening pair not contributing, Azhar Ali and Younis Khan’s slump in form and middle order collapse, at 119/8, it was too much to do for the captain Misbah and the tail. Misbah-ul-Haq’s resilience and Wahab Riaz’s cameo somehow helped Pakistan scratch to 198. 

With a huge lead of 391 runs, all eyes were on Cook, but to everyone’s surprise, he didn’t enforce the follow-on in spite of rain looming in the air and England came out to bat just for 2.4 overs before rain stopped the play. After the rain break, players took the field and England raced to 98/1 at stumps on day 3. On day 4, England plundered runs and at 173/1, declared their innings and set Pakistan an improbable 565 runs to win. 

In their second innings, it was the same old story for Pakistan. Openers once again failed to click collectively, Azhar Ali fell cheaply while Younis Khan, Misbah and Asad Shafiq, all got starts, but not a single batsman was successful to convert that start into something substantial. Pakistan’s innings was finally folded for 234 and wickets were shared by Anderson, Woakes and Ali with 3 wickets a piece. 

It was a remarkable victory for England while Pakistan find themselves in a cluster of problems. Collective failure of the openers, poor form of their consistent batsmen Azhar Ali and veteran Younis Khan and the dent in the confidence of their leggie Yasir Shah after all the hammering he went through are some of the issues that Pakistan would look forward to sort out before they play their next Test in Birmingham. 

Scores:

England       589/8 dec & 173/1 dec

Pakistan       198 & 234

England won by 330 runs.

The decline of Test Cricket

Test Cricket-Cricket’s bread and butter, the traditional format of the game is unfortunately going through a process of slow death. Even though there are ten nations playing Test Cricket, it seems that only four to five teams are playing enough Test Cricket and taking it seriously while the rest of the lot are either not playing enough of it or are just not technically capable of playing the game at the highest level. While many experts may blame the rise of T20 cricket or the fact that Test Cricket is not played at the night time as the reasons of its decline, however the root causes of decline of Test Cricket are quite different if you unfold the results of Test Matches that are being played in recent times. Two of the major causes of decline of Test Cricket are:

#1: Inability to play abroad

The term ‘Home sweet home’ is far more applicable to teams playing Test Cricket these days. There have been many instances in past six to seven years where a touring team, even stronger teams like England, Australia, India have been mercilessly whitewashed by the home team. Losing is not a problem but the way the teams have lost the matches is a matter of concern.

South Africa's inability to play spin was completely exposed in India

In recent times, South Africa’s mere surrender to India in India, India’s 4-0 losses to England and Australia away from home and Australia’s cluelessness against India in India in 2013 have been some of the glaring examples where visiting team’s inability to play in alien conditions has been completely exposed and in the process has killed the contest itself. There is nothing more enjoyable than the absorbing days of Test Cricket where two teams fiercely compete against each other and state of the match swings like a pendulum over the course of the five match days. But due to the increasing inability of players to play away from home has made the quality of Test Cricket poorer and in the process has led to its gradual decline.

#2: Widening of rift between upper-ranked and lower-ranked Teams

When Windies toured down under for a 3-match Test series in 2015-16, the result 2-0 loss of West Indies was not at all annoying for a Windies fan or a cricket fan in general, but what was annoying was the massive rift that was clearly evident between the performances of two sides. Performance of West Indies in all the departments was so sub-par that it didn’t feel that there was any contest going on and no wonder the matches were boring, one-sided that hardly brought any attention of the fans. Similarly the just concluded Test series between England and Sri Lanka too was a lop-sided affair that once again highlighted that lower-ranked teams are just not technically capable enough to compete better teams that is ultimately affecting the future of Test Cricket.

WI Vs Aus Test Series was a no contest whatsoever

Thus, the technical and temperamental inability of players to apply themselves in tough conditions and situations is responsible for the decline of Test Cricket. 

Kevin Pietersen – A Maverick and remembering 5 of his Memorable Test Hundreds

Kevin Pietersen- a South African born English, who, on his day, made batting look ridiculously easy. From being sublime on one day to being terrible on the other, his batting very much resembled his way of life. Pietersen was like a chirping bird who sang his melodies rather freely in an otherwise quite conservative and disciplined English Cricketing culture. He was as much hated as much as he was loved. But one thing that very much defines Pietersen is his ability to stand up when the chips are down. Throughout his English career, especially in Test Cricket, he somehow always found a way to excel either when he was pushed in a corner or when the going got really tough against tough opponents under toughest of the situations. When he began his English career in one-dayers, no one ever thought that he would have a great Test Career, but by the time the Ashes Series of 2005 ended, his first Test series, people knew that he wasn’t an ordinary player. Pietersen’s batting was marked by arrogance or confidence, whatever you want to call it and he always loved the centre stage. He was an impact player that could turn the Test Match on its head within a matter of a session. His stroke-play was exuberating and his presence at the crease was breathtaking. In early 2014, when he had to unceremoniously exit the international Cricket following the disastrous Ashes series down under, he had already amassed 8181 Test runs in 104 Tests and is still the highest run-getter for England across all the formats of the game. While he has 23 Test hundreds in all, let’s take a look at 5 of his memorable Test hundreds that defined his Test Career and made him one of the greatest English batsman to have ever played the game.

#1: 158 Vs Australia, The KIA Oval, September 2005

12^th September 2005, last day of an Ashes Series and England were already leading the Ashes series 2-1 and a draw on a final day was good enough for them to regain the Ashes. England were in a good position at 67/1, but, with two wickets off back to back deliveries from McGrath brought Pietersen to the crease and McGrath was on a hat-trick. Thanks to a good decision from umpire Bowden, Pietersen survived the first ball scare. In an hour’s time before lunch, Pietersen was roughed up by Lee and McGrath, but managed to negotiate a serious spell of lethal fast bowling, and not to forget, luck played its part too as Warne dropped a simple catch off KP at first slip. What followed after lunch was simply phenomenal and it looked like it was destined to be Pietersen’s day. Pietersen had clear ideas about what had to be done and his stroke-play was breathtaking, something really rare and the way he dominated the Aussies was something unheard of. Throughout his innings, he was under immense pressure as wickets kept tumbling at the other end until he got the able support of Ashley Giles. Pulling Brett Lee for a massive six or hitting him straight back over his head are some of scintillating shots that would be always echoed in my memory. He brought up his hundred, first of his Test career, when he drove Tait through covers. The way Pietersen celebrated his hundred and the way the capacity crowd erupted expressed what the hundred meant to all of them. Neither Warne nor McGrath escaped the Pietersen’s onslaught and by the time KP was dismissed, he had made 158 runs that ended Australia’s streak and helped England regain the Ashes after a wait of 16 long years. That innings certainly has to be most defining innings of Pietersen’s career where he single-handedly carried the responsibility of his nation on his shoulders.

Pietersen's debut hundred helped England regain the Ashes

 #2: 227 Vs Australia, The Adelaide Oval, December 2010

In the preceding Test series against Pakistan, Pietersen had performed woefully at home. For the first time in his English career, he was dropped from one-day team that played against Pakistan and desperately needed to score some runs. He was going through a patch where he didn’t score an international hundred for 18 months. In the winter of 2010-11, England were touring down under for the Ashes and after a draw at Gabba, action returned for the 2^nd Test, this time at Adelaide Oval. Pietersen did get a start at Gabba, scoring 43 in the first innings but the big scores that were quite a hallmark of his short career so far were eluding him. Pietersen walked into bat at 176/2 in first innings and looked in sublime touch from the word go. Pietersen batted with absolute authority and his powerful stroke-play made the Australian attack that comprised of Siddle, Harris, Bollinger and Watson look like a club bowling attack. KP got to his hundred when he tucked Harris for a single and his yelling after he got there expressed a huge sigh of relief and a deep sense of satisfaction on achieving the coveted three-figure mark that eluded him for past 18 months. The highlight of this innings was the way in which KP responded when pampered with short-ball stuff. With three fielders fine leg, square leg and deep mid-wicket in place, KP toyed with Siddle and Harris’s bowling as his shots hit with immense powers kept bisecting all of them. Pietersen scored a double hundred and eventually was dismissed for his career-best Test score of 227 as his innings played a lion’s share not only in winning the Test match but also in breaking the backbone of Australia’s bowling attack.

#3: 151 Vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, April 2012

It was a second Test of two-match Test series and England had already lost the first Test. Pietersen was touring the island nation for second time and had a disastrous outing in all of the previous four Test matches in Si Lanka. He was out of sorts in Test series against Pakistan as well that was played in UAE in early 2012 and was keen on proving a point this time around. England needed someone in the batting department to stand up and play well if they wanted to level the 2-match series. Pietersen just as he had done on number of previous occasions took upon himself to change the fortunes of his team and his policy of attack is the best form of defense was just ideal for the situation. Throughout the innings, he took a special liking to spinners and Suraj Randiv and Dilshan faced the brunt of KP’s aggression. The shots that he hit dancing down the wicket were delightful to watch as he played with the field brilliantly playing sweeps, reverse sweeps and occasional switch hit as well. Another important aspect about that innings was the way he played left-arm spinner Herath. Understanding his problems against left-arm spin, KP played Herath through the line and hit him mostly through the off-side, over the head of covers. Fittingly, Pietersen brought up his hundred with a switch hit and capacity crowd had witnessed a whirlwind, breathtaking innings from an extra-ordinary player that they were waiting for throughout the winter. Pietersen’s 151 came from just 165 balls as his innings comprised of 16 fours and 6 massive sixes. Pietersen’s 151 ensured England won the 2^nd Test convincingly and levelled the 2-match series 1-1.

#4: 149 Vs South Africa, Headingley, August 2012

After his heroics against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka and after having a great IPL, Pietersen returned to England for English summer of 2012. He had a relatively good Test series against Windies but what made the news rather than his batting in that early part of that Summer was his talking, his criticism against the ECB. His decision to retire from limited overs cricket midway through the WI Test series, his love for the IPL and his criticism against the ECB about not letting him play T20I’s while giving up ODI’s were in spot-light. In the later part of that summer, South-Africa visited England for a 3-match Test series. England lost the first Test at Oval and while action headed to Headingley at Leeds, much was at stake for Pietersen and England. At Headingley, South Africa batted first and scored 419 and at 85/2 in England’s first innings, walked in Kevin Pietersen against his country of birth. Steyn and Morkel were in the middle of a good spell and Pietersen and Trott were under pressure. Right at the start of his innings, Pietersen was pampered with some short ball stuff and Pietersen wasn’t going to be defensive. With some luck and some skill, Pietersen withered the initial storm. His ability to hit the ball on the up was on offer as he neither spared Steyn nor Morkel. But, the highlight of his innings was the way he completely dominated the short-ball bowling, first from Steyn and then from Morkel. They continued to bowl him short and KP pulled them all day long, not at all giving any chance to the fielders in the deep. Such was the domination and stature of Pietersen’s batting that in the partnership of 147 runs between him and James Taylor, Taylor managed to score only 34. Following his hundred, Pietersen was on song as he made Steyn look like a school-boy bowler when he hit him for an array of boundaries and sixes and the six that KP hit over Steyn’s head was simply sublime. Pietersen’s enterprising 149 was an innings worth its weight in gold and he desperately needed that, not only for himself, but for his team as well. While he talked all summer long, he let his bat do the talking this time around at Headingley and though his innings didn’t secure a win for England, it certainly helped them draw the Test match and saved England from suffering yet another defeat.

 

Massive moment for KP as he rose to the occasion and struck a gritty 149 against Proteas

#5: 186 Vs India, Mumbai, November 2012

It was the second Test of the winter between India and England at Mumbai. In the first Test at Ahmedabad, India thrashed England and Kevin Pietersen, the man who was reintegrated into the team following his derogatory messages saga found himself in hapless situation against the left-arm spin of Pragyan Ojha. When Pietersen joined Captain Cook in the middle after India had scored 327 in first innings, he looked determined and couldn’t afford to fail this time around, especially after a disastrous outing in the previous Test. He not only had to win back the trust of English players and fans but also had a point to prove against his old nemesis, the commodity called left-arm spin. Pietersen was quite fluent right from the start unlike his tentativeness that was quite evident in the previous Test. It seemed that he had done his homework quite well as he picked up the length of the ball quite early and combated the spin by going towards the pitch of the ball. He played the spinners beautifully both off the front foot and off the back foot as well. He used his feet and used the long reach that he has got quite effectively to deposit the flighted deliveries into the stands. Pietersen’s batting on that wicket, that turned square wasn’t about hanging out there but he dictated his own terms on the bowlers. Such was the class of Pietersen and Cook that even the commentators commented: don’t think that the wicket has fallen in love of the batsmen but it is the genius of Pietersen and Cook that is making batting look ridiculously easy. The greatness of Pietersen’s 186 lies in the fact that on a rank-turner where every other English batsman except Cook struggled and wasn’t sure about how much the ball is going to turn, Pietersen showed tremendous self-confidence as he thoroughly dominated the bowlers and made them to bowl at him and never allowed anyone to settle, be it any of the three spinners and to produce such a knock under grueling conditions after all the things that he had gone through in past six months spoke about his immense character and will-power. The silent, unpietersen-like celebration after he got to his hundred was a testimony about how focused he was and this innings would have certainly given him a deep sense of satisfaction. Pietersen’s 186 played a pivotal role in English victory and KP was rightly adjudged the Man of the Match.

KP's 186: Perhaps the greatest innings played by an English batsman ever on Indian soil

While Pietersen’s England career is already over and even though he plays in various T20 competitions across the globe, he deserves all the credit for his contribution towards English Cricket and has thoroughly entertained Cricket fans all over the World. After he says a final goodbye to the game as player, he should always be remembered as a maverick and perhaps the most charismatic and gifted English player of this generation and not for all the controversies and the clashes that he has been involved in. He didn’t get a ceremonious England exit and let’s hope that he gets a grand exit once he finally decides to hang up his boots from all forms of the game.

Cricket: An Evolution that resembles Life

Importance of Sports in life is immense, much beyond recreation, fun and exercise. Sports teaches an individual on how to cope up with pressure-like situations, it unites people, it creates bonds amongst people irrespective of their colour, caste, religion and most importantly it resembles life. Though each and every sport has a story of its own and in some way or the other resembles life, the story of Cricket is unique and one of its kind. One thing that is so unique with the game of Cricket is the way it has evolved. It has evolved to survive, it has evolved to become much more intense and entertaining and more importantly it has evolved to keep up the pace of the life.

The Era of Time-less Test matches and its end:

Remember that time between 1877-1939 when only Test matches were played and those Test matches used to be time-less Test matches? Matches were played for days after days until we got the result and that was the way of life then, everyone had ample of time. But just as animals and human beings evolved, so did Cricket and generally evolutions taking place are accidental, aren’t they? And the accident that occurred back then was that the English team which was playing against South Africa in South Africa, after ten days of play had to leave the Test match uncompleted as they had to catch the boat to take them back home and the next ship wasn’t scheduled in quite a while. That was it, it was an end of an era, concept of Time-less Test Match was put to an end and Test Cricket became a 5-day affair. It was Cricket’s first evolution.

Test Cricket in its's early days

The Birth of One-day Cricket:

If it took about 60 years for this change to happen, the next evolution in Cricket came about 30 years later in Australian Summer of 1970-71 when cricketing world witnessed the birth of one-day Cricket. This change too was accidental but it revolutionized the way the game was played. The first four days of new Year Test of 1971 between Australia and England were washed out due to bad weather and to avoid financial losses and just to appease the furious spectators, both the boards decided to play a one-day match of 40 eight-ball overs and guess what, the fans were thoroughly entertained and large masses who turned up went home happily. From Time-less Test Cricket to One-day Cricket, the game of Cricket had already evolved itself a lot, trying to keep itself up to date to the pace of life. The birth of One-day Cricket increased the popularity of the game manifold and as a result, game’s first global event, Prudential World cup was played in England in 1975.

The Kerry Packer Effect:

 There was a new format, the game’s popularity had risen like never before, but Cricket was missing something, neither it had money nor it had any glamour. But that was soon to change and Kerry Packer from Australia launched World Series Cricket in 1977 which changed altogether the face of the game. Kerry Packer and World Series Cricket gave a great impetus to the players financially, Cricket was played with coloured clothing and the matches for the first time ever in cricket were played under lights.

Kerry Packer revolutionized the game

Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket no doubt was a rebel and was disliked by boards but it certainly set the tone for how the game was going to be played in the future.The money that Kerry Packer brought into the game was a sigh of relief for budding cricketers back then as now they could consider Cricket as a Career option, a job that could satisfy their financial needs. As the time passed by, One-day Cricket started to grow and went through many changes as well. One-day Cricket initially was a 60-over per side affair that was played under broad day-light in white clothing but as we see now, it is a 50-over per side contest played under lights in coloured clothing. But, as the name suggests, it is still a one-day match that gallops eight hours, about the same amount of time a person works for in any corporate office. 

T20, the format that revolutionized the way the game was being played:

By the time 21^st Century begun, life of people had gathered a fair amount of pace and even a one-day match started to look long that chewed up a lot of time and Cricket needed something that was fast, something that took less time and something more dramatic if it had to survive in a World that had become far glamorous than it was ever before. And somehow Cricket always had a solution to any new problem it faced and that led to the birth of T20 Cricket in England in 2003. T20 Cricket has everything that the modern world desires, it is entertaining, it is glamorous, it is fast and breath-taking that resembles people’s life in 21^st century. It is just like watching a three and a half-hour movie and it is the Cricket’s only format that could compete with other fast-paced sports if any such comparison ever has to be made.

IPL 2008: Start of an era of franchise Cricket

If T20 cricket was itself a revolution, the way it was promoted was much more revolutionary. 18 April 2008, don’t ever forget this date, the first day of Indian Premier League, the franchise-based Cricket which was being played for the first time ever was launched in the grandest possible way to a nation that eats, sleeps and bleeds cricket, India and then there was no stopping for T20 cricket as it widespread not only in main cricket-playing nations but also to associate nations and non-cricket playing nations at a much faster rate than anyone could predict.

The act of evolving itself is Cricket’s biggest strength and it is continuing to do so as we just saw a first day-night Test Match being played between Australia and New Zealand in November 2015. The fact that stands out in Cricket and its journey through evolutions is the way it has always found a way to resemble life. Cricket has always undergone changes to suit the demands of that particular time and to match the pace of life and in spite of all that, Cricket’s all the three formats: Tests, ODI’s and T20’s still continue to co-exist in peace and harmony without threatening each other. 

Conflict that the players don’t like to face: Club Cricket Vs International Cricket

The world T20 has ended and it’s time to play some Club Cricket, its IPL time. As the time passes by and as the English summer approaches, the much-talked about debate: Club Cricket Vs International Cricket will once again rise to the surface and there would be comments and recommendations from all parts of the Cricketing world about what the players should do and what they should not. It’s been six to seven years, at least by now everyone should have known that it’s extremely difficult for Club Cricket and International Cricket to co-exist together and it’s time for administrators to set this conundrum fair and square. If the players have an upcoming international duty in the middle of the league, either they terminate their participation in the league and catch up the international duty or like WI players skip the international duty altogether and continue their participation in the league. Majority of people have an opinion that national pride is at stake and players should give priority to International duty, which is right thing to do from my perspective as well, but at the same time, you have got to understand Player’s side as well and a player might say: why should I leave the league half-way if I am being paid so heavily to play,   is he wrong if he says so? Certainly not, at least if you look at the things from a player’s perspective. To settle this issue, the best thing to do is to separate Club and International Cricket and play each of them at different times of the year, but not together.

Club Cricket: Factor responsible for the evolution of T20 Cricket and its time we create a window for it in  Cricket Calender

T20 Cricket is evolving and undoubtedly Club Cricket that is being played in different parts of the World is responsible for it. T20 Cricket and Club Cricket have given a new lease of life to Cricket and presented the emerging as well as senior players a platform to showcase their talent and achieve either a breakthrough or comeback into their national sides. With T20 World cup also scheduled to be played after every four years, Cricket’s governing body should privatize the T20 format by letting Club Cricket handle it while focusing on Tests and ODI’s. By privatizing, I mean that ICC as a game’s global body should create a window for various leagues like IPL, BBL, CPL and so on. At the same time, for the well-being of Cricket and players, even the league organizers should try to make their leagues short and sweet so that they can fit into the schedule without hampering International Cricket as well. For example, IPL that is currently a 50-day long affair should be compressed to a 30-35 day event. I know that this statement is going to raise the eyebrows of many franchise owners but that is the only way going forward if we wish to balance franchise as well as International Cricket. For example, consider the case of IPL, it can be scheduled from 10 April to 10 or 15 May and with English summer mostly starting by 25 May and with predominantly no international Cricket being played elsewhere as well, such kind of window can be created which will ensure player’s full participation in IPL without affecting his international commitments as well. Also taking BBL into consideration, Cricket Australia can create a one-month window in their summer say from February 15 to March 15 in which BBL can be played and with international Cricket in South Africa and New Zealand also getting over by that time, this kind of window is certainly feasible. It’s true that Cricket is a sport which is majorly being played between two International sides and it should remain to be that way, but Club Cricket can’t be neglected or taken lightly. Over the past eight years, time and again it has brought rich dividends not only to players and administrators but also to game of Cricket as a whole. Along with monitory gains, Club Cricket provides an international stage for players all around the world to showcase their talent, get a taste of different conditions, get to know about different players. It’s a stage where you as a newcomer get a chance to play along with your idols, pick up their brains, learn from their experiences and grow yourself as a player. And for this reason, Club Cricket is wonderful for the game and its time that we give it the due respect and most importantly isolate Club and International Cricket so that players don’t have to face the conflict of choosing one over another. 

5 of the Biggest Gains of ICC world T20, 2016

The ICC World T20 2016, a tournament that started off under heavy criticism over being unfair to associates was already a huge success by the time we came to its business end. Right from hosting the tournament brilliantly, having nerve-wrecking finishes, the rise of Afghans and giving a new lease of life to World T20 event itself, the tournament and the game would not have asked for anything better. Here’s a list of 5 of the biggest gains of the tournament that the game desperately needed.

#1: The Voice for and of the Associate Nations

To have a World T20 event to be a 10-nation tournament with only 2 out of 8 associate member nations qualifying for the main event was undoubtedly unfair and cruel to these associate nations. With 2019 50-over world cup also being just an 8 nation tournament, discontent was rising among the associate nations as they stepped into this event. Washout of games and the need for the associates to play each game like a do or die match in qualifying stage led to bitter comments and raising of voices from their captains and players against the ICC regarding how difficult it is for these teams to play under these unfair conditions. Scotland captain Mommsen’s question “how could I improve my skills if I play just one international game in 1 year” was a simple but an eye-opening question that aptly described how ICC treated the associates and certainly deserved an answer. Along with their own voices, they were also ably supported by the voices of fellow cricketers and the cricket fans. Moreover, associate nations backed their voices with some brilliant, mature and exuberant performances in the qualifying stage and also in the main draw, especially by Afghanistan. Let’s hope that ICC does better in future for associate member nations and help cricket expand across its conventional boundaries.

#2: Rise of Afghanistan

To put the disappointment behind of not being qualified for Asia cup T20 that preceded the world T20 and then qualifying for the main event under such grueling conditions in qualifying stage, is itself an achievement for country like Afghanistan that has gone through lot of hardships for many years now. But, playing in a World event is not for a weakened heart and Afghanistan showed once again that they are strong and ready to take on the world. They qualified for the main draw convincingly by winning all of their three games against Scotland, Hong Kong and Zimbabwe. Afghanistan, playing in their first three matches of the main draw, gave the scares to Sri Lanka, South Africa and England. Against South Africa chasing 210, Afghanistan looked on course at 105/3 in 10 overs, but unfortunately they stumbled. Again against England, Afghans had the English on the mat at 57/6, but England escaped, defeating Afghanistan just by 15 runs. And the victory that was evading Afghanistan finally came against the Windies, the team that had won all of its three previous matches. The conditions under which they won made the Afghan victory even sweeter. They showed tremendous self-belief in getting to 123 from a precarious position of 56/5 batting first and then they executed a lion-hearted effort in restricting strong West Indies batting line up to 117. They managed to hold their nerves and showed maturity as they defended just 10 runs in the last over especially with hard-hitting Carlos Braithwaite at the crease. The most important thing about Afghanistan that was even more highlighted in this World T20 is that along with hard-hitting batsmen and strong bowlers, they have also got a fearless attitude and an unprecedented passion for the game which will help them go the long way at a much faster than all other associates. Players like Mohammed Shahzad, Mohammed Nabi and skipper Asghar Stanikzai brought a breath of fresh air that the tournament desperately needed.

Afghanistan: An Emerging nation in cricket

#3: Fair Contest between bat & ball

Cricket is a contest between bat and a ball, right? Or it is expected to be that way. But, what we saw in 2015 Cricket world cup down under was hilarious for the game. Batting paradises, 5 fielders inside the 30-yard circle led to many instances where batting totals swelled out of proportions quite frequently than they used to be and bowlers looked clueless about what to do, especially in death overs back then. So, to see bowlers being given a fair chance was a refreshing change that we came across this World T20. The pitches in Nagpur, Delhi and Dharamshala were quite conducive for bowling that helped the bowlers and batsmen weren’t given any unfair advantage. Moreover, bowlers from almost all the teams did their homework quite well, tried new variations and restricted the batting teams to modest totals. The Yorkers that seemed to be forgotten off-late got a new lease of life as bowlers used it quite effectively to choke the batsmen in death overs. Overall, it was quite exciting to see bowlers dictating their terms and as a cricket fan, it was enjoyable to see a fair contest between bat and a ball rather than seeing a contest between two batting units. The bowlers deserve the credit and the credit also goes to pitch curators who produced sporting wickets, except the one in Mumbai which was a belter of a wicket.

#4: Revival of World T20

The tournament’s history dates back to Sep 11, 2007, when the inaugural match of the inaugural World T20 was played between West Indies and South Africa at Johannesburg and the cricketing world was taken aback by the whirlwind Gayle storm. T20 was relative new then and no one knew nothing about it, an experiment worth gambling. But, that tournament was unexpectedly a huge success, a format that caught the imagination of youth and people then started to take T20 seriously. But as the time passed by, the tournament started to lose its charm, the aura that surrounded it when it was first played and the world T20’s hosted by England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh failed to promote the fate of T20 internationals. By the time the event was played in Bangladesh in 2014, it seemed that the tournament is missing its x-factor, but this world T20, the way it has been played, has changed it all. A fair contest between bat and ball, some fabulous individual performances, nail-biting finishes, tough competition between teams to qualify for semis, good quality cricket and a huge crowd support has certainly revived the fortunes of World T20. Almost each and every match went down to the wire and the edge of the seat thrilling contests have been an exhibition not only to T20 format but to the game of cricket as a whole.

#5: Calypso Kings The West Indies, can this victory lead to their revival?

West Indies need 19 off the last over in the final, Carlos Braithwaite is on strike and at the other end is Samuels, Stokes has a ball in his hand, 6,6,6,6 and its West Indies, the champions of World T20, 2016. The West Indies victory was the perfect icing on the cake for what was a fabulous World T20. But the question remains, can this victory revive the fortunes of WI cricket? Or will it be forgotten as the time passes by? Same thing happened four years earlier when they won in Sri Lanka in 2012, but it didn’t change the fortune of cricket in West Indies. When will the dispute between the board and its players end? Can the board and their players be on the same page? Well these questions are difficult to answer at the moment, but nonetheless due to this World T20, at least all their team got together and played with full potential. Gayle was back, so were Badree, Benn, Bravo. Darren Sammy is not a Clive Lloyd and this victory is not going to revive the things in fortnight, but yes, this victory gives the people back in the Caribbean the hope, the hope that WI cricket will be revived and the feeling that WI can play back to its full potential even in Tests and ODI’s. This victory will also push the WI cricket board to think about resolving the issues with the players and the policies about them. This victory will certainly inspire the budding cricketers in WI to take the game seriously and who knows, keep your fingers crossed, if everything works out well, we can get a good West Indies team playing at its full potential across all the three formats in near future. 

We're the Champions: West Indies win ICC World T20, 2016

Australia's conundrum at World T20, 2016

Having witnessed Australia’s performance so far at World T20, it’s clearly evident that Australia certainly have a huge conundrum of picking right team combinations, if not team selection. Their team line up for first two matches comprised of as many as four all-rounders in Watson, Maxwell, Marsh and Faulkner. It’s good to have all-rounders, but having four of them playing together, that too, more or less of the same style defies cricketing logic and makes their batting vulnerable. One of them, probably Marsh or Faulkner have to make way for a specialist batsman like Finch who is unnecessarily and undeservingly warming the benches. Turning our focus to batting, Australia’s batting order certainly seems to be ill-ordered. What is David Warner doing at No.4? With his hard-hitting abilities and huge amount of experience of playing in the IPL under his belt, he should partner Khawaja at the top. Finch desperately needs to make a comeback at the expense of Marsh and should bat at crucial No. 3 position. Now, Smith, Watson and Maxwell can float around in the batting order, occupying No.4, 5 and 6 positions depending upon the match situation.

Smith and Australia must make amends in their team combination and batting unit to revive their chances at World T20

Thus, in spite of having talented bunch of batting unit, it was utterly disappointing to see Australia faltering in 142-run chase against NZ and crawling their way in the chase of 157 against Bangladesh. If their batting order just look unorganized, their bowling seems to be completely depleted. With Mitchell Starc unavailable due to injury, they are certainly missing their trump card who can bowl those lethal yorkers exceedingly well at the death and one who has an immense experience of playing in Indian conditions as well due to the IPL. Though Zampa has done a good job so far, Australia certainly missed the trick by not picking experienced campaigner in Nathan Lyon and opting Agar over him. Also, why is hazlewood not being picked and Hastings get picked? Hazlewood has been Australia’s workhorse for over a year now and is quite an intelligent bowler who knows his game quite well. Surely, Hazlewood deserved a chance, at least after his hat-trick against the Windies in the warm up match. So, Coulter-Nile, Hazlewood and Zampa should form Australia’s bowling line up and all-rounders should chip in as usual. Thus, with two more crucial matches to go against tough opponents like Pakistan and India, Australia certainly have the personnel to pull-off wins, but, they should get their team combination and batting order absolutely spot on.  

Celebrating the day when Little Master scored his 100th Hundred!!!

आपण कधी सचिन तेंडुलकरला रागावलेला, वैतागलेला पाहिलंय ? फारच क्वचित परंतु तो त्या दिवशी चक्क भडकलेला होता. तो दिवस होता ५ नोव्हेंबर २००९ व तो भारत वि ऑस्ट्रेलिया ह्याच्यातील झालालेल्या मालिकेतील पाचवा एकदिवसीय सामना होता. ह्या आधी मालिका २-२ अशी बरोबरीत होती व पाचव्या सामन्यात ऑस्ट्रेलियाची प्रथम फलंदाजी होती. पन्नासाव्या षटकाचा शेवटचा चेंडू जेव्हा सचिन पाशी आला तेव्हा त्याने तो चक्क रागाच्या भरात जमिनीवर आपटला व मैदान सोडले. त्या कृत्याचा तेव्हा कोणालाच काहीच अर्थ लागला नाही परंतु त्याचा अर्थ इतका लवकर लागेल याची कोणालाच कल्पना नव्हती. भारतासमोर आव्हान होते ३५१ धावांचे व सेहवाग तेंडुलकर  ही सलामीची जोडी भीम पराक्रमाचा पाठलाग करण्यासाठी मैदानात उतरली. पहिल्या षटका पासुनच दोघेही जण अत्यंत आक्रमक रित्या खेळत होते. क्षेत्ररक्षकांच्या डोक्यावरून फटके खेचत सचिन जणु आपल्या चाहत्यांना जुन्या सचिनची आठवण करून देत होता असेच वाटत होते. सचिनचे अर्धशतक होत असतानाच सेहवाग तंबूत परतला. परंतु सचिनने आक्रमकता कायम ठेवत झपाझप धावा केल्या व धावफलक हलता ठेवला. सेहवाग पाठोपाठ युवराज, ढोणीही बाद झाले व भारताची परिस्थिती नाजुक झाली. परंतु स्तिथप्रज्ञ राहुन सचिनने आपली झुंज चालुच ठेवली. सचिनने आपले शतक पूर्ण केले ते फक्त ८० चेंडूंमध्ये. जेव्हा त्याने अभिवादन करण्यासाठी प्रेक्षकांकडे बॅट दाखवली तेव्हा त्याच्या देहबोलीत जबर इच्छाशक्ती व कमालीचा आत्मविश्वास दिसत होता.

सचिन शतकानंतर प्रेक्षकांना अभिवादन करताना 

शतकानंतरही आपल्या धावांची गती कायम राखत तो भारताला आपल्या ध्येयाच्या जवळ जवळ नेत होता. क्रमांक ६ वर आलेल्या रैनाचीही सचिनला सुरेख साथ लाभली व रैना-सचिन जोडीने  भारताची बाजु मजबुत बनवली. परंतु ही जोडी खतरनाक वाटतीये तोच ऑस्ट्रेलियाने रैनाचा अडथला दुर केला. त्या सुमारास सचिनने  आपला १५० धावांचा टप्पा पुर्ण केला.  आता जडेजाला बरोबर घेत सचिनने आगेकुच सुरु ठेवली. संयम व आक्रमकता यांचा सुंदर मिलाप राखत सचिनने भारताची नाव अगदी विजयाच्या उंबरठ्यावर नेउन पोहोचवली. परंतु मोक्याच्या क्षणी जेव्हा भारताला ३ षटकात सुमारे २० धावा हव्या होत्या तेव्हा मकायच्या  धीम्या गतीच्या चेंडू वर शोर्ट फाईन लेग करवी तेंडुलकर १७५ला झेलबाद झाला. स्टेडियम सुन्न झाले. सर्वकडे एकच शांतता पसरली व मग मात्र सगळ्यांना समजले की एक वादळ शांत झाले होते . कारण ती सचिनची खेळी म्हणजे जणु एक घोंघावते वादळच होते. त्या वादळाने  ऑस्ट्रेलियाला संपूर्णपणे झोडपले होते.
सचिनची ती खेळी मला सदॆव लक्षात राहिल कारण ती खेळी एकाग्रता, ध्यास, जबर इच्छाशक्ती व कमालीचा आत्मविश्वास या सुवर्ण गुणांनी खचाखच भरली होती. तसेच त्या खेळीमुळे माझा क्रिकेटकडे बघण्याचा दृष्टीकोनच पूर्णपणे बदलुन गेला, माझ्यातला खरा क्रिकेटप्रेमी जागा झाला व मला उमंगल की खरंच क्रिकेट माझ्या आयुष्यातला किती महत्वाचा घटक आहे ते आणि त्यानंतर मी क्रिकेट बद्दल खऱ्या अर्थाने भावुक झालो.
इतक्या अप्रतिम खेळीनंतरही भारत अवघ्या ३ धावांनी पराभुत झाला, तो पराभव अगदी प्रत्येक भारतीयाच्या जिव्हारी लागला पण सचिनने जी काही खेळी केली ती पहायला मिळाली हे आपले भाग्यच.

Does ICC really want to promote the game and make Cricket a Global Sport?

Watching the qualifying stage of ICC World T20 2016 is a hard thing to do if you are a true Cricket lover. With only two teams set to qualify for the main draw (one from each group of 4), does not do any justice not only to associate nations but also to World T20 and Cricket, if we look at the bigger picture. To make the matters worse, a double-match washout between Ireland-Bangladesh and Oman-Netherlands at Dharamshala meant Ireland and Netherlands, two potential associates who could seriously compete the main draw nations were knocked out of the World T20 2016. Emotional post-match conference speeches from Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland’s skippers speaks about how distraught they are with ICC and it’s policy regarding handling the associate member nations. Scotland’s captain Preston Mommsen asked a simple but an eye-opening question to ICC: “how could I improve my skills if I play just one international game in 1 year” and condition of all other associates is no different.

Netherlands skipper Peter Borren is distraught with ICC during a post-match conference following their knockout

Looking at the present scenario, one wonders whether ICC confines only to BCCI, CA, ECB or it is really a global cricketing body? Does ICC really want to promote the game and make it a truly global sport or it is just here to fill the big pockets of fat bosses of big three boards? And one more reason to worry about is that why the hell is ICC trying to cut down the participation of associate member nations in World events? In first place, the associate nations don’t get to play any bilateral series against main teams and if ICC denies them their right to play in global events, how in this world are they going to improve their skills, how are they going to taste different conditions and face the crunch-time situations and ICC’s statement stating that 2019 50-over Cricket World cup to be a 8-nation tournament has already not gone down well with associate nations and if ICC does say so, how the game is going to be promoted? Why the fans from these nation would watch, follow and learn Cricket if ICC does not want to include them? And to be honest with these associate member nations, these teams have delivered when they were given a chance. In spite of being under must-win situations all the time, these nations have fared well and we have had many instances in the recent past where these so called minnows have challenged the top-draw nations. Consider the example of 2015 world Cup that was played down under. England, the nation that brought the game to the world, were knocked out in the first round, thanks to their defeat at the hands of Bangladesh, Ireland defeated West Indies. Bangladesh reached the quarter-final stage, Ireland’s progress was significant as they managed to win three out of six matches and at one point of time were in serious contention of qualifying for the quarter-final stage. Looking at the present World T20 scenario, 5 teams viz Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan seriously deserve to have a place in main draw of the Tournament and unfortunately only 2 out of 8 teams are going to make the cut. This is T20 and undoubtedly an ideal platform for spreading the game worldwide, while on the contrary, ICC just wants a 10-nation world T20. It should have been at least a 12 team affair if not 16. To add to it, World T20 2016 is in India, it is for the 3^rd consecutive time that an Asian country is hosting this event with 2012 and 2014 editions being played in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh respectively. If we were to live in an ideal World and if ICC had been seriously proactive, it would have not only increased the number of associate nations participating in the event but also would have given the opportunity of hosting the 20-day event to a country say like Ireland. In such a scenario, it would have been a showcase event for all Irish fans and more importantly it would have sent a strong message to all other associate nations indicating that ICC is open to experiment and seriously wants to promote the game even in lesser known territories and make Cricket a truly global sport. Well, though such plans can be made, they look to be far from executed at least as far as ICC’s current style of functioning is concerned. As an Optimist and a true Cricket lover, I see nothing is lost and ICC can still make this sport a global one. Well as a matter of fact, apart from increasing the participation of associate nations in global events, these nations basically are Cricket Starved, starved of good quality Cricket and the only way to bring them up in Cricket is to arrange bilateral series between associate nations and full member nations. For example, if Australia is touring England for the Ashes, instead of Australia and England playing a long inconsequential ODI series after the Ashes, a tri-series between Australia, England and Ireland or Netherlands can be arranged which will help the associates to get involved in good quality competitive Cricketing environment or instead, say Scotland can tour South Africa, India or England for a 3-match T20 series. These measures would not only help these associate nations play good quality Cricket but would also help them in getting familiar to overseas conditions. Playing with top-draw nations and playing more and more Cricket is the only way by which associate nations can improve their skills and ICC as a global Cricketing body should ensure that this happens and a team is not left to play just a single International game in a year’s time. It’s already a high time and ICC should take the required steps and globalize the sport or otherwise there would be hardly six to eight contenders playing this beautiful game jeopardizing it’s future.