July 7, 2005 was the day when Vikram Solanki was appointed the first supersub under the new laws for one-day cricket. Since then a number of matches have been played with this rule in place. Skippers have spontaneously voiced their opinions about the supersub rule and many cricket writers and buffs followed suit. Most of those voices reserved some harsh words for arguably the most radical experiment tried till date in the one-day format. Now the ICC have published their verdict against the rule. 'Supersub' will ironically be subbed out of the game with immediate effect.

The principal argument against the present rule is serious. It makes the toss more vital to the match result than ever before. A cricinfo study on win-loss ratio stats from recent ODI's confirmed that as a fact. We saw an interesting case study of this increased impact of the toss during the 1st and 2nd ODI's between India and South Africa in November last year.

In the 1st match India apointed a specialist batting supersub Gambhir. However they had to bat 1st in the match and lost a few quick wickets. A bowler from the first 11, Murali Kartik was subbed out without even stepping out of the pavilion. Gambhir the supersub came out to bat and departed soon after scoring a single. In effect India were 10 players and a fielder thereafter.

The 2nd ODI saw India play with a similar plan. The key difference: they won the toss. RP Singh bowled a reasonable 5 overs in the field and was then subbed by Gambhir who scored a handy 38 to kick-start the Indian chase of a small South African total.

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Season Review: The plague of self doubt

A good cricket team, very generally speaking, is a team that plays the basics of the game well, wins well in conditions that suits it, and doesn’t disgrace it self when faced with different ones

ESPNcricinfo staff

25-Feb-2013

A good cricket team, very generally speaking, is a team that plays the basics of the game well, wins well in conditions that suits it, and doesn’t disgrace it self when faced with different ones. Under Bob Woolmer and Inzamam collectively, Pakistan have showed, at least at times and in bits and parts that it can fulfill this definition of a good team.

Pakistan victories under them have often had a very similar, never-say-die feel. Under them, Pakistan have developed the quality to fight back, to perform against the odds and under pressure. As a matter of fact it was only during the recent series against England did Pakistan first win a first test of a series.

Otherwise in previous outings under Booby, against Sri Lanka at home, against India and West Indies away, Pakistan each time fought back to come from behind to level the series after losing a previous test, often quite comprehensively. Many theories went around speculating on the reasons for this bizarre habit of Pakistan’s, of performing well only after they’d done poorly first.

Some experts implied it was simply the product of Pakistan being a young, emerging side, still very much in rebuilding mood, learning to play in a new era, a post-Wasim, post-Waqar, post-Saeed Anwer, post-many-legends-in-the-same-team era, under a new coach and his news ways.

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Bowl off’s, bashed babes and bye byes.

For the vast majority of the crowd at Eden Park, tonight’s Twenty20 game against the West Indies was about just one thing

ESPNcricinfo staff

25-Feb-2013

For the vast majority of the crowd at Eden Park, tonight’s Twenty20 game against the West Indies was about just one thing. Saying goodbye to Chris Cairns.

When Cairns walked out to bat a cheer erupted through the crowd that sent a genuine chill up your spine. When he walked off the field only moments later, having spluttered his way to two runs, every man woman and child stood to applaud this iconic cricketer’s exit from the game. Cairns even looked as though he may have shed a tear, and who would blame him?

The crowd begged for a Cairns wicket. When none came they pleaded for a six to sail from Eden Park. When none of those came either, they knew that Cairns would save his fairytale exit for the ‘bowl off’ but alas Cairns missed the stumps by a country mile.

In the end it mattered little. Cairns was given a heroes send off that his contribution to New Zealand cricket fully justified.

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A bird's eye view of the Lahore ODI

What better advertisement for Indo-Pak cricket than a thrilling one-day match at a major venue

ESPNcricinfo staff

25-Feb-2013

What better advertisement for Indo-Pak cricket than a thrilling one-day match at a major venue? The Lahore one-dayer on 13th Feb presented exactly that. Here are a few highlights of the thriller.

1. First things first. Both these 'medieval' teams of world cricket are upgrading their ground fielding in leaps and bounds. Their foreign coaches must be thanked for that. Catching under pressure, though, remains the same old worry across the two dressing rooms. Of the two, Pakistan are probably worse hit for this aspect. Indian medium pacers were ever dependent on catchers for majority of their dismissals while the recently retired Waqar and Wasim did most of their hunting for Pakistan through 'bowled' & 'lbw's.

India dropped 3 of the simpler chances offered by their rivals. Pakistanis, known to be generous hosts, returned the favour through their keeper and Asif. This was a throwback to another huge run chase at Dhaka in 1998 (record breaking at the time). Then India dropped 5 chances during the Pakistani innings, only to get them back one by one during their mammoth chase. Two of them were off successive Srinath skiers in the final over and contributed 4 of the 9 runs required for India to win.

2. Pakistan scored an amazing 130 runs in the last 17 odd overs. And they had lost six big wickets by the time this period started.

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On S Sreesanth and Suresh Raina

A striking feature of India's cricket this season is the difference between the look of the team in one-day cricket and that in Tests

ESPNcricinfo staff

25-Feb-2013

A striking feature of India's cricket this season is the difference between the look of the team in one-day cricket and that in Tests. The one-day side is bursting at the seams with energy and talent, but in Test cricket the side has often appeared jaded and a little low on passion. The two areas in which the Test team has been especially woeful are in the seam bowling (Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh covered for this deficiency in the series against Sri Lanka, as they often tend to do at home), and in the ground fielding. India are not at present a very watchable Test side overall, for even some of the batsmen are beginning to look a little long in the tooth. But in the shorter game they have frequently made the pulse race.

Of the younger set of players who have made it to the one-day side two have been especially good to watch: S Sreesanth of Kerala and Suresh Raina of Uttar Pradesh.

Sreesanth's figures don't show it yet - even in the game today he took none for 52 from 10 overs - but he has the makings of a seriously good bowler. He comes in of a longer run-up than any Indian paceman I can remember, and it's not all for show - he really does hit the bat. I like the look of his grooved run-up and the pistons that appear to fire all over in his delivery stride - he looks like he means business - and crucially, he generates pace without appearing to place much strain upon himself.

He also moves the ball away from the right-hander, which is a rarer and more valuable trait than the ability to bring it in, and in his spell today he produced some excellent slower balls without an apparent change in action. That is a good base, at 23, from which to slowly develop some of the higher arts of bowling, such as cutters and reverse-swing. Indeed, he looks ready for Test cricket, and a year or two from one sees the makings of a decent seam attack, good for all conditions, made up of Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, and perhaps one of RP Singh or Lakshmipathy Balaji (who showed just too much skill with the ball in his brief spell of uninterrupted cricket to be left by the wayside).

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Selectors missing the point.

Given Australia’s increasingly patchy form in one-day internationals, there has been much navel gazing about the composition of the side moving forward towards the 2007 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff

25-Feb-2013

Given Australia’s increasingly patchy form in one-day internationals, there has been much navel gazing about the composition of the side moving forward towards the 2007 World Cup. A little more then twelve months out from the tournament, Australia seems to have no clear idea who is going to make up the bowling attack. Lee will take the new ball, and Brad Hogg will probably be the main spinner. Andrew Symonds is likely to play an all-rounder’s role. After that, well… your guess is as good as mine. McGrath is no certainty, given his increased age and the declining health of his wife.

And it is interesting to watch not just the selectors, but also the critics, miss a crucial point about selecting with this tournament in mind. The nature of the pitches in the West Indies will have a big impact, and yet so far as I can see, no one is paying it any attention at all.

Pitches in the West Indies have been generally low and slow for close to a decade now. Last time I saw a green demon of a pitch in the West Indies, Curtly Ambrose was squaring off against Steve Waugh. That was over a decade ago now, and times have changed. Yet selections have not.

Yet Australia is trying out every Tom, Dick and Harry that bowls a decent fast medium line and length, in a desperate attempt to find someone to bowl first change after Lee and McGrath. On the sort of pitches we are likely to see in the West Indies, the likes of Dorey, Bracken, Stuart Clarke and Shane Watson are probable cannon fodder.

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An Argumentum Ad Hominem

To me, it appears that the Indian team was desperate to win the game by hook or by crook, no matter even it came at the expense of the norms of this sport known as the gentleman's game.

ESPNcricinfo staff

25-Feb-2013

To me, it appears that the Indian team was desperate to win the game by hook or by crook, no matter even it came at the expense of the norms of this sport known as the gentleman's game.

Those are sane words - heard normally from one of the game's mostly misinformed greats. Which is why it is surprising when one reads the byline accompanying these words. Even though I believe that the circumstances leading to this quote could have been avoided (from both sides), let me take you back in time to the year 1999 to demonstrate why this particular comment riles me up.

Exactly 7 years and one week ago in Chennai, on January 31, 1999, India lost the first Test of their two Test series against Pakistan. This particular Test match shall forever be known to every Indian cricket fan as a story whose positive end was so near and yet turned out to be so far. For some people in Chennai, that Test match shall be the one that sealed the reputation of the crowds at Chepauk for being the most sporting of live audiences ever. But to me, the Test, particularly the last day, will be a milestone dripping in infamy - the day when Sachin's back began asserting itself and when Mongia's wild hoick against Akram with so few remaining to be scored derailed India's fight-back. While these incidents are all that most people will remember about the Test, personally I will never forget one particular ball.

Now, most people talk only about Mongia and the subsequent failure of Sachin and the tail to score those precious 17 runs. But if you ask me, I think the deed was done much earlier. For, I am of the firm opinion that the vital balls/wickets that change the complexion of a game are always the ones that come at the start of a innings. So if you lost a game by one run, don't blame the late order batsmen, but blame the top half of the order for not scoring that vital run. Similarly don't blame the misfield at the fag end of the innings, but the reprieve earlier. Don't blame that run out that claimed the 9th wicket, but blame the umpiring error that caused the premature demise of number 3.

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