Welcome to Different Strokes

The best cricket writers don't always come from inside the profession of cricket writing. Indeed, professional cricket writers can often get jaded, or be too close to the the wood for the trees, or be conflicted by knowing players too well, or simply lack a fresh perspective from having done the job too long. Writers from outside the profession often write with a freshness and energy that those inside can't often muster.

Well, Different Strokes is a group blog of a few of those writers, whose work we have noticed in different places over the last few months, and who have agreed to showcase their skills on this particular platform. They all have their own styles and bring their own perspectives to their writing. So without much ado, here's an introduction:

Anantha is an engineer who considers himself to be the finest armchair cricketer that India has ever produced. He engages in, among other things, serious thought-provoking (and barely noticed) commentary about the game of cricket on his blog - I'm No Superman.

Angshuman Hazra is 31, and works in the petrochemical sector in Haldia, West Bengal. His only love other than cricket, family, friends and his daughter Titli is music. He blogs here and here, as frequently as 'Dada', one of his many idols, bowls his seamers.

Arun Kumar, based in New York is passionate about sports. His favorite pastime is watching sporting events across the world.

Gaurav Sabnis is 25, lives in Mumbai, and is most well-known for his blog, Vantage Point.

Jai Arjun Singh is a freelance journalist based in Delhi. He writes the blog Jabberwock.

Ken Tinker is 26, male, and lives in Newcastle. He spends his time philosophising, practicing amateur anthropology and critiquing music -- in other words, he spends a lot of time at the pub with his friends being cynical.

Krishna Kumar is a pseudo-engineer in a telecom firm in Bangalore, and has been an occasional contributor to Cricinfo in the past. For examples of his work, see here and here.

Lahar Appaiah, 27, is a corporate lawyer in Bangalore, and blogs intermittently at https://cultureczar.blogspot.com. His two passions are Alistair MacLean and, of course, cricket.

Zainub Razvi is an aspiring journalist currently resorting to study Dentistry instead, she owns & runs The Anti Foolish Hair Cut Association (TAFHCA) & also writes the blog Sundries.

Well, there we are then. Different Strokes is a work in progress, and its membership will no doubt evolve as time goes by. And also, one important thing: nothing written on this blog represents the views of Cricinfo on any issue. In order to give these writers the independence their ability demands, it is important for us to stress that.

Also, comments will be open on subsequent posts, but moderated. Any comments that are off-topic or abusive or ad hominem will be deleted, but disagreement and debate is welcome and expected.

Update (December 7, 2005): We have three new contributors!

Chandrahas Choudhury studied literature and played cricket at Trinity College, Cambridge, and lessons from both come together in his cricket writing. He worked for a while at Wisden Asia Cricket magazine before opting to be an independent writer. He writes the popular lit-blog, The Middle Stage.

Chris Fogarty is a Dubliner, brought up in the UK, living in New Zealand. He is a passionate supporter of England -- until Ireland achieve Test status. He blogs over at The Burnt Bail.

Scott Wickstein is a long time blogger and internet enthusiast, cricket fan, and has blogged on sport for three years. The 34-year-old blogger has had only limited success as a cricketer, when he turned out for the Aldinga Cricket Club 'C' grade team, proving more successful as a after-match raconteur then middle-order batsman."