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FEBRUARY 14, 2015
India v Pakistan, but it's muted this time
: The build-up to the World Cup clash seems restrained with fans from both sides not feeling particularly bullish about their team's chances
India have a 5-0 unbeaten run in the World Cup against Pakistan, which makes them ripe for the toppling © AFP
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FEBRUARY 05, 2015
Pakistanis should stop crying fixing
: The obsessive tendency to paint players as corrupt following every defeat has served to deflect attention from the team's real problems
JANUARY 29, 2015
Sri Lanka in a World Cup funk
: For a Sri Lanka fan, the team's losing streak in the New Zealand ODIs is perhaps the equivalent of getting paralysed by poison. Your body is immobile giving the impression that you've died, but inside, you are still very much alive. Screaming.
JANUARY 28, 2015
Backyard cricket
BC Lara c Valderrama b Teapot 48
In his piece for the Guardian's Spin, John Ashdown draws on his childhood memories and mulls on how the seemingly rigid rules of cricket can be warped - with a little creativity - to allow its practitioners a quick game anytime, anywhere.
Problems occurred whenever our dad could be persuaded to bend his back for a couple of overs. The problem for the batsman was two close catching fielders, Valderrama on the off side, a (usually) far less reliable human on the on. The problem on the scoreboards was that the new bowler would refuse to play the role of any cricketer since 1970, invariably nominating himself Fred Trueman or picking a random object from the kitchen. This led to several destructive spells against the cream of the world's early 90s international middle orders for Fiery Fred and the occasional frustratingly random "BC Lara c Valderrama b Teapot 48" in the books.
JANUARY 26, 2015
A letter from Bradman
: How I unearthed a precious gem while shifting stuff from one room to another in my house
JANUARY 17, 2015
World Cup 2015
Tiger Shoaib appeals to the Prime Minister
Shoaib Ali Bukhari is the Bangladesh fan who paints his body like a tiger, attends most home matches and screams all day from the grandstand at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. He has traveled to India, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe over the last nine years following the Bangladesh team.
Usually he is financially supported by corporate houses, current and former players, board officials and a supporters group for his travels. But this time he has struggled to find sufficient funds in his quest to travel to Australia and New Zealand for the World Cup.
As a result, he has appealed to the country's Prime Minister to help him. In a press conference arranged by a supporters group called BCSA, Shoaib said that he is itching to watch the World Cup in person, and knows that his support is what the team requires. The BCB has assured that he will get match tickets.
A motor mechanic by profession, Shoaib has gained following even among the Bangladesh players who call him "Tiger". Taskin Ahmed and Al-Amin Hossain, speaking at a press conference in Mirpur, said that he inspires them.
Al-Amin said: "We always see him in Bangladesh, so we will surely get inspired by his presence when we will see him in Australia."
DECEMBER 22, 2014
The charm of the Boxing Day Test
: This annual fixture is special not just for the cricket, but also because it satisfies one of the tenets of Christmas - bringing people together
DECEMBER 07, 2014
Healing by putting your bat out
: Touching tributes by strangers all over the world have helped immensely in recovering from the pain of Phillip Hughes' death
DECEMBER 06, 2014
The problem with watching England
: It's not just about wanting your side to win; there's also the matter of which players you want to do well
DECEMBER 02, 2014
On growing disenchanted with the game, and the bouncer
: A fan on how his appetite for cricket and excitement at witnessing a good dose of short stuff at the Gabba this December waned once news of Phillip Hughes came in
NOVEMBER 13, 2014
Embracing Maxwell's unpredictability
: Fans pop a vein when his ludicrous tactics fail, shrug when he succeeds. Either way, cricket's first bona fide troll is not about to change
NOVEMBER 07, 2014
Acknowledging the Indian who doesn't care for cricket
: Yes, such a tribe exists, and it cannot be dismissed easily in this age when we constantly worry about the game's future
NOVEMBER 04, 2014
Dear West Indies cricket
: A letter from a fan who grew up idolising the great Caribbean sides of the '80s
OCTOBER 23, 2014
The renewability of cricket
: We as players and spectators have a great deal to do with the perceived complexity of the game, simply because we change over time
OCTOBER 19, 2014
Broadcasting
Has cricket hit the roof?
Cricket's dominance in India might not be fading just yet, but the team's performance has not been as compelling as the last decade and high-profile retirements since have also had an impact on viewership. Ashok Malik, in Asian Age, wonders if a saturation has been reached, especially with other sports enticing the average fan.
Cricket viewership, even Indian Premier League viewership, is not growing. It has either reached a ceiling (IPL) or a floor (Test cricket). Even limited-overs cricket (the Fifty50) game, the mainstay of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is showing a worrying pattern. On-ground presence is lower than previously. The BCCI is masking it by hosting matches mainly in smaller cities and towns, where the novelty may still be there. As for television, a comparison between the India-West Indies limited-overs series of 2011 and 2013 would be telling. Both series were played in India. The first was played in the aftermath of India's World Cup victory and showed a TRP of 3.4 (male/15-34/Sec A, B and C). By the 2013 series, the TRP number had fallen to 2.2. TRP figures for the just-concluded (October 2014) India-West Indies series were not immediately available.
OCTOBER 12, 2014
The visceral beauty of fandom
: It is the fans' money and attention, and the players' skills and efforts that are indispensable to sport. Investors and broadcasters merely market the show
OCTOBER 09, 2014
Confessions of a Pakistan fan-turned-cynic
: It is time we accept that the team is a lesser force now, and will be. Highs are momentary, enveloped by a sense of hopelessness
SEPTEMBER 09, 2014
Moeen Ali: England's man of the summer
: He has won respect with his cricket doing the talking, not letting himself be crushed by shameful boos from fans
SEPTEMBER 05, 2014
The unquestioning loyalty of the sports nut
: True sports fans are like Harley-Davidson loyalists. Poor marketing and tacky innovations will never turn them away from the game they love
SEPTEMBER 01, 2014
The power of booing
: It has value when used against players who have transgressed - particularly if they have somehow offended the spirit of the game
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