Misbah's weird runout!

This one has to go down in the history of Test cricket as one of the weirdest dismissals of all time. Misbah-ul-Haq trying to run himself out just like a defender or a goal keeper attempting a self goal!

Must watch!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atCvEuMmtes

India - Pakistan. So boring!

I was watching the Ranji Trophy match between Hyderabad and Punjab today. Barring the Afridi-Gambhir incident, there seemed no difference in the intensity between India-Pakistan and this one.

So even Afridi apologizes. For making a mistake by abusing Gambhir.

What is this world coming to? Where is Sreesanth? Where is that hidden talent of Robin Uthappa? Why can't Yousuf wear a Symonds' mask?

Check this out.

A Hindi commentator: Aglee gaind, Yuvraj ki. Sweep Kiya. Chaar run.
(Next delivery, from Yuvi. Four runs.)

As simple and lucid as that. Is this really India-Pakistan?

Cricket Quiz Question of the Day - II

Quiz Question of the day:

Sachin Tendulkar has opened in Test Matches only once in his whole career? Can you tell us when, or anything significant about the match?

Mail your answers at othersideofcricket@gmail.com

Hope to see a whole of correct answers this time!

What's up with Greg Chappell?

The Indian Team had this saintly figure as their coach.

His name was Chappell.

Greg Chappell.

Greg Chappell of the underarm ball fame, an apt example of how saintly he could get. Wanted kids to get involved as well. Hence the underarm ball.

But as is the wont with saints, he's upset. Read this:
http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/319671.html

The last paragraph goes like this:
Chappell quit as India's coach four months later, following a disastrous World Cup campaign, but he claims that the incident cemented his decision to walk away as soon as his contract expired. In fact, he felt he should have gone sooner, after the BCCI reversed his attempts to inject new blood into the Indian squad by recalling older players such as Sourav Ganguly.

Huh? But don't I remember correctly about his taking the credit for Ganguly's return to the team? Probably I suffer from amnesia.

Then the saint talks about getting hit by a spectator. Sad. Very very sad. He goes onto criticize the BCCI of not making a big issue out of it.

But he conveniently has forgotten that he had the audacity to show one of five fingers to the Kolkata crowd after losing a match. And again, forgetting that the BCCI had played down the issue by proclaiming that he was checking his 'injured' finger.

You expect us to believe you again?

Now you are made the executive or some other thing sounding like that of the RCA, and you make it back to India, choose the half volleys thrown by the media at you to try and hit sixes? One supposes you should stop doing that, it could very well back fire, and end up hurting you more than the bowlers.

To end this piece, I would like to put up the link of the famous underarm ball. Bowled by Trevor Chappell at the 'request' of Brother Greg.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NssS_7iPbA

Must watch. I wonder what would Greg's reaction have been seeing the number 11 batsman throw his bat in disgust. Probably pull him up to the match refree for dissent?

Afridi versus Gambhir video!

Given that many people seem to be interested in the Gambhir-Afridi incident that happened yesterday in the match between the arch rivals, here is a video that deciphers the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFB2nWW09JY&NR=1

It contains abusive language, and hence "Parental Guidance" may be necessary for entities below the necessary age.

This one is funny.

Answers to Question of the day

The first question in the Quiz Question of the day was:

Q. Anil Kumble has captained India in ODIs once. Can you name both the wicket keepers in that match?

The answer is Ajay Ratra for India and Jamie Foster for England.

Unfortunately and surprisingly, no one got that right! Buck up guys, will be back with another question soon.

Words can be misleading!

Pre-Script: The video for this incident has been attached in the article above @
http://othersideofcricket.blogspot.com/2007/11/afridi-versus-gambhir-video.html

While Afridi and Gambhir were mouthing profanities of the choicest kinds at each other, here is what Cricinfo had to say:

19.4
Shahid Afridi to Gambhir, 1 run, Drama! Afridi and Gambhir sledge each other! It was on the leg and middle stump line, pushed to short third man region for a single. Gambhir and Afridi collide. Afridi says Gambhir should have gotten off the path but Gambhir thinks otherwise. Both get very close to each other - bumper to bumper traffic! - and go at each other. Umpire has to intervene, he speaks to the two and then to Malik. Crowd roar and the ODI has come alive. The bowler is entitled to stay on his follow-through and the batsman has to run around him.

SLEDGE???

The language was as filthy as a couple of pigs trying to mud wrestle with each other. As coarse as the roads in Andheri East. As road side as the pani puriwaalah outside Bandra Station.

And the guy says sledge!

No doubt 'Neo Sports' advertises it's internet TV with the line, "Words can be misleading"

A new and improved version of Ganguly

Dravid had made this famous comment on Ganguly's offside, first there is God, then Ganguly. Ganguly seems to have redicovered his form these days, especially after the oppositions have started packing their off side fields with tons of fielders. Now, Ganguly has started playing in the 'V' more often.

Behind the stumps.

There would be times when he would get bowled like he did in the second ODI against Pakistan, but that is because one's favourite shot that gives one a lot of runs sometimes does become one's shortcoming. So, we need to give it to him, till he keeps getting those runs in that V.

The Chinese would be happy to name the shot after them. So would be the French.

Quiz of the Day

Starting today, we would be hosting a small quiz question on the blog, on a regular basis. For now we have decided to keep it ad hoc, as we have more audiences answering the questions, we would try to regularise it.

So here is the first one:

Q. Anil Kumble has captained India in ODIs once. Can you name both the wicket keepers in that match?

Mail your answers at othersideofcricket@gmail.com

The people who get this one right would have their names appearing on this blog. Now while we understand this is not exactly a Cricinfo, it always is a nice feeling to see one's name up, ain't it?

So go ahead and spread the word, more interesting quizzes and cricket crosswords coming soon!

BCCI and the openness factor.

Seems to be the season of 'open'ness. Open Source Software, and now open letters.

The Secretary of BCCI, Mr. Niranjan Shah, has shot one off to Mr. Gavaskar, on how the Board is working to make the things more transparent. This is in response to Gavaskar-of-the-changing-roles fame's column in HT describing why the BCCI is not a transparent body, or something to that effect.

Shah goes on to add, that processes take time to get implemented. Time? As we know, it is a seventy plus year old body, and we also know the method of it's working. Niranjan Shah may have een in only for a couple of years, but rest assured, another decade at the helm, and nothing much is going to change.

So one is going to see, Test captains been appointed in the lunch break of a One Day international. Don't understand the rationale at all.

Good players getting dropped by Selectors because of personal vendetta. Not-so-good players getting selected because they have been scoring runs, probably in book-cricket tournaments.

Coaches not getting appointed for days, such that the team is without one, for about 8 months, as is the case now. The explanation one gets is "we have been winning as it is, so what is the need?" True. We need engines, not coaches. Sad joke. Sad affairs.

When coaches get appointed, they dont sign contracts. Slap and run away.

Captains get appointed informally. Who reject the offering at the eleventh hour.

The whims and fancies of one man decides who is going to be interviewed to coach the team. Irrespective of whether he was there in the first place or no. The man then does not turn up for a coach-selection meeting. The same man then criticises the functioning of the Board in his columns. And then he commentates like he knows the game like the back of his palm. But stays away from being associated with the team and sharing his palm.

Or rather, his expertise.

Bad joke number two. BCCI does that you sometimes.

And so on.

Byw for now. Need to watch the Aussies bat now. And plunder on the Lankan misery, negative decision to field first. Will make them pay the Aussies now.

No Tendulkar, then who is the next one?

Aaha..or should I say aaila! What do we have here? Tendlya has refused the selectors, two times unlucky is enough apparently. No Test captaincy for the man.

It is for the next generation.

Err....so who would it?

Dhoni? Wicket keeping. Batting like a frontline batsman. And now captaincy? In Australia? The question to be asked if he does get assigned the new role would be not whether India perform well, but whether Dhoni returns back in one piece in February.

Or return at all. After the tour.

Doubt adding another litre of milk to the daily dose would make any difference.

Kumble? I am sure it would mean that he ends up bowling at least forty five overs each day in a test match. And if the umpire's not looking, he may sneak consecutive overs from both ends. Again, would he return back?

Yuvraj? Yeah, now that is a good choice. A non playing captain is what we have been looking at for a long time, so far the title had always fallen on the broad 'non' performing shoulders of Ganguly. For a change we would have a performing, non-playing captain, leading from the front!

Zaheer? Probably, the Aussies love him too much as well, after the 2003 WC final, and especially after meeting Sreesanth, would consider him to be a saint of a man. Could he be the right choice (Rakshanda) baby?

Jaffer? Too young at 30.

Karthick? Who??

Dravid? The question is whether Vengsarkar would consider him. Naah, not for captaincy, I was referring to selecting him in the team.

Ganguly? Refer to Yuvraj above. No wait, even Ganguly's started performing. But then, Dalmiya's no longer the chief. Sorry, out of question.

Sreesanth? You must be kidding.

Laxman? It is Australia, has to be Laxman then. No two ways about it. I am pretty sure it has to be Laxman, in fact I suggest he changes his name to Superman, instead of Lax-man. Only for the Aussies. And the best part is that the public there loves him as well. Don't you remember how they gave him a standing ovation after he hit that 167 at SCG. Plus he is the last man standing.

Has to be this man.

Cricket Coverage at it's 'best'

Right, so this is what one terms as coverage. Cricket coverage. With an all new definition.

Cricket coverage, is defined as that process that covers all those moments of the cricket match that excite the cricket viewers, such that the fan is not able to watch it.

So, no replays immediately after a wicket falls. Only an advert.

Nestle (or the Future grp. or some other shitty company) puts up their advert during the play, with sound effects (read noise effects), that blur the commentary totally. A different matter altogether, that the commentary is not world class either, but it is more entertaining than a show of coffee at the expense of 1/3rd of the screen.

The other usual problems exist as usual, losing sight of the first and the last deliveries of the over because of the ads, but today one saw the coverage been taken to a new level.

Depths I must say.

3rd ball of the over. Bhajji bowls. Younis Khan reverse sweeps, and the ball goes to the slip, where Ganguly almost catches it. One almost throws his hands into the air and...

They show an ad.

Or at least a part of it. Before realising that three ball 'mini overs' were retricted to galli-cricket only, not International yet.

Choicest of words tried exiting the mouth, I restricted it to 'damn' only.

Cricket Commentary or Comedy Circus?

Some commentary fun:

Zaheer Khan bowls a bouncer and almost gets Younis Khan out.
Rameez Raja: He should surprise the batsmen by bowling that bouncer regularly.

How do you surprise somebody by being regular? Contradictory or am I thinking things?

Another cliche. Harbhajan comes onto bowl.
Rameez Raja (again): If he bowls well, India may win.

Thank God he didnt say, if India play well, they would win.

How about this one? It was a leg before appeal off Kartik's bowling.
Dhoni and slip fielder were keen. Murali Kartik was matter of fact.

What does the above line mean anyway? And yeah, it was Raja again.

A pearler from Arun Lal. Gambhir drives Anjum Rao for a boundary through the covers.
Arun Lal: There were five fielders there, but yet, Gambhir threaded the needle perfectly.

Threaded the needle? Wonder whether he thought it was Mark Taylor (Tailor) batting!

For more of such baffling comments. do tune in for the next match between India and Pakistan, on 8th November. I am sure they are not done yet.

Hair yesterday, gone now!

They say that captaincy is a job that makes you lose hair.

More so Indian Cricket captaincy. Well, Dhoni's been in the hot seat for about a month and a half now. Look at what's happened to the hair now, the same style that was loved and adored by none other than the Pakistan Prez Pervez Musharraf.

Too much on his plate they say. It was too much on his head earlier (literally as well!)

Monkey Business

It seems that monkeys seem to be the in thing wherever the Indian Team goes these days.

So, while it was the crowd playing out the new anthem after 'Chak De', i.e., monkey chants at the Aussies, Eden Gardens saw simian trouble yesterday when a monkey jumped in, rummaged through the cricket kits of the Indians, before finally settling down in the ground for around half an hour.

Probably, he thought that the crowds may want some entertainment, after the ill-mouthed Aussie series, especially given the "diplomatic" vibes that are emanating from both dressing rooms.

Where are you oh Sreesanth?

Inzy speaks...

"They are the best judge of themselves. Dravid, Sachin and Saurav still have age on their side. I retired at the age of 38. It is not age, but fitness and performance that decides a player's retirement."

- Inzamam ul Haq

Really? Fitness? Then why did you not retire at 26?

And you sure you retired because you wanted to retire? Would you not have played on till 48 if allowed to?

McKenzie...McKenzie who?

I asked, "Remember Neil McKenzie?"

"Neil who?", my friend asked back.

Yeah, one is sure, my friend is not the only one to have forgotten this cricketer. Neil 'Superstitious' McKenzie last played a Test in 2004, before being dumped into wilderness. But what stood out more than his batting was his eccentric behaviour before taking strike, every ball.



If you have seen Chanderpaul or Jayasuriya, or even Dhoni, and thought that they overdid their eccentricities, you would have to watch this man bat. One would have thought that every step he took was calculating, methodical and laced with the thought of what next?

Other examples of his strange mannerisms took the cake though. He never touched the batting crease when the ball was dead, thus he would either bat outside the crease, or have one foot on either side of the line. But would never touch it. A cool second and a half would be spent in adjusting where he stood, so as to ensure that the crease remains beyond the realms of his touch. There are stories of McKenzie packing and repacking his bag over and over again, till he has ensured that the place is speckless.

Look at Cricinfo's Andrew Miller's description of the man:

"Neil McKenzie is a batsman whose superstitions border on the neurotic - he routinely tapes his bat to the ceiling before an innings, and has to make sure that all the toilet seats are down before goes out to the middle. Such habits are good preparation for days like these, when survival is largely decided by the whims of fate."

Sometimes one wondered whether he overdid it.

Incidentally, McKenzie has scored a 182 in SA-A's first inning against the touring Kiwi side.

Dravid...oh Dravid :-(

Sturdays are generally spent in college. This was supposed to be different.

College was to be replaced by Wankhede, where the reigning Ranji champions, Mumbai, took on Karnataka, not really a big occasion except that it was the first match of the season. And that Dravid and Kumble were going to feature in it together, after some light years. Alrite, make that only years.

A late night Friday night out meant a late trudging out of bed today, and that essentially meant, that by the time one got to Cricinfo, Dravid was already at crease, and by the time, one got out of the bath, the website said this...

Mumbai on top, as Dravid falls
Last bat
R Dravid c Muzumdar b Powar 40 (137m 97b 4x4 0x6)

Groan.

Such losers this Mumbai Team.

Why are all Pawars like this? Spoil sports, I tell you.

Lonwabo Lopsy Tsotsobe

How do you pronounce this one?

Lonwabo Lopsy Tsotsobe.

Hmmm...Doesn't it sound more like a Japanese learning karate on his new Chinese dish with his chopsticks? Or does it?

He is South Africa's Eastern Provine's left arm medium fast bowler, who has currently wrecked the NZ in a first class match, with three wickets in 7 overs.

Probably the Kiwis tried pronouncing his name before every delivery.

An Open Letter to Dilip Vengsarkar

Dear Mr. Vengsarkar,

We saw you become the Chairman of Selectors for BCCI, taking over the position from one Mr. Kiran More, your former team mate, and wicket keeper when you captained your Team India with honors. Or probably you did, but yet lost 5 of the 10 you skippered in. Happens to the best of us. We rejoiced. No, not at your captaincy, at you getting selected as the Chief. Probably because one thought BCCI needed your hard talking, straight forward nature, more than the youngsters at the Elf-Academy.

Probably one was too relieved to see the back of Kiran More. For all the good that More had delivered as a gutsy, diminutive, never-say-die wicketkeeper, seemed to have got washed away when he transpired to conspire with a foreigner to throw the best cricket captain India had ever seen, away, into wilderness, and then take the credit for his return to form. But why am I telling you this, this is not about Kiran More, it is about you.

So, we all thought that you would be a messiah who would save all of India, with some tough decisions on selections, not care too much about reputations, and most importantly, help the Indian win some good matches. What we certainly did not bargain for was a confused positioning on selection policies within a short span of time. But it augurs well, more than anything, confuses the opponents about the next move, especially at the macro-level of things.

You began by exhorting us to look at the virtually non-existing bench strength for the Indian Team, after all, Team India is not Team Infosys where every second software professional you meet would be a guy warming the bench, ready to replace the next best guy. How could you replace the seniors in the Team? We all agreed with you, and understood your predicament. You also wanted to throw the preparations of opponents into a sense of complacency one is sure, no-one saw through that. Only I did.

But then there was another issue, we all were made to understand that the seniors in the team – Ganguly and Dravid – would have been throwing their weight about in the dressing room, not heeding to training schedules, or adhering to the fitness programs. Does not augur too well for the unity of the team, and so you ‘officially’ warned everyone using the medium of the media. Seniors should rightly not take their place in the team for granted. We agreed. Whole heartedly again, how could players of the quality of Dravid and Ganguly, who do not even have a real estate property in Mumbai, forget being from Mumbai, afford to do this?

Then – and I am guessing here – probably on your recommendation bought a house or two, in Mumbai, and out came your statement, about seniors not having to worry about their place in the side. As if to prove your point, you even dropped one senior, Dravid, and selected another senior-of-sorts-who-does-not-act-one, Virendar Sehwag back into the team, and made an insightful revelation, “Sehwag has been among the runs in recent times.” True, Sehwag, in the recent times, has had two fifties to boot in the Challenger Trophy, a fifty in the twenty20 Cup, and many more in the galli-cricket tournaments that he featured in, in the last few months. Or so they say. But what counts is that he scored runs, and we all remember how Dravid had managed to convince you about Sehwag’s potential before the World Cup. You finally agreed. This shows that your respect for individuals, especially ex-captains who don’t see eyeball to eyeball with you. You got no ego hassles, which augurs really well for the country.

One keeps comparing your job with Kiran More’s, he at least had the support of Greg Chappell to help take India where they were; you have done it all alone. Even the managers appointed haven’t been quite on your side, but you have exhibited that same mental toughness and skin ‘thickness’ that you displayed in your playing days. Time and tide have barely changed your objectives, the confused positioning notwithstanding.

All in all, it has been a very exciting tenure for you I am sure, as it has been for all of us. One is not too sure about the extension of your tenure when it comes for review in September 2008, but one would really hope and pray that you continue, it makes for an interesting viewing, and the suspense associated with it may give that opportunity to Lalit Modi, the CMO, to sell Indian Cricket as a thriller, to say, Balaji Telefilms or ummm…maybe Warner Brothers? Remember to ask for that royalty you so rightly deserve.

Thanks and Warmest Regards,
A Vengsarkar Fan.

The Wait and the Weight...

Two bowlers, both aggressive in their own right, generally with a lot to say to their opposition, have said it again. This time to the media.

Sreesanth: I am handsome but all the actresses can wait.

Oh yes, most definitely. In fact one feels that you look more handsome than ever when the 'sidekick' opposite you is Andrew Symonds. Like this...







and this...



And your dances, could put Prabhudeva to shame...

One is sure, the wait's going to be agonising for many!

Talking about weight now, here is what Stuart MacGill has to say,

There is no doubt I am overweight. I don't know how far over I am. I just don't feel all that comfortable at the moment ... But I'd argue that, historically speaking, cricketers have proven - as I have over the last five years - that weight is not a selection criteria

Yeah, and why would it be? The most recent idols for you could be Inzamam and Ranatunga, who were anything but thin. They not only played, but led their sides as well. So, you may just have a good chance to captain the side, what with the succession plan that Ricky Ponting recently alluded to.

And no, we haven't yet forgotten the Leverocks and the Powars!

The First Delivery of the Match

Hello Friends,

This blog is attempt at looking at the other side of cricket, the humorous, the sarcastic, the wicked, and sometimes the ugly. This would be interspersed with cricket quizzes, crosswords and other fun elements.

Hope that you have a good time!

The Editor.