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Why India are like many football teams
The untold riches, the pampered stars, the blue pyjamas, the unpredictability in tournament finals - who does that remind you of?
R Rajkumar
Apr 25, 2014, 5:40 AM
With all due respect to the recent debate on this website as to whether or not India deserve to be called the Brazil of cricket, I believe we have been barking up the wrong analogy altogether. I put it to you that trying to decide whether or not India are cricket's Brazil (or any one team) is moot, because there are simply too many football analogies, for better and for worse, that can be applied to Indian cricket today.
In other words, it's not just Brazil, stupid. It's also Manchester City. And Argentina. And… surely not England? Yes, England, too. And more besides.
It should come as no surprise that a club like Manchester City has more in common with Indian cricket than Brazil. Let's look at the obvious similarities: while popular among their own fans, both teams often face flak for their perceived untold riches and pampered superstars, many of whom are required to be wrapped in lavender-scented cotton wool and stored in a cool, dry place at the end of each day's play.
Full postWhat Moores will do
A Lancashire supporter knows exactly how the tenure of the new-old England coach will go
Alex Bowden
Apr 24, 2014, 2:44 AM
With Peter Moores returning as England coach, many are wondering what to expect from round two. As a Lancashire supporter, I have followed Moores' recent work closely. I have every expectation that he will stick closely to the same template, so here's what's in store.
England will win the County Championship
Some might suggest that England should be aiming higher than to win a first-class competition - they are an international side, after all. Then again, is that actually at all realistic right now? There's little point running before you can walk, and little point launching into a spirited saunter before you've learned how to stand. Moores will bring about a revolution that will finally see England perpendicular to the floor and only then will he set about the difficult task of beating Northamptonshire et al.
Some might suggest that England should be aiming higher than to win a first-class competition - they are an international side, after all. Then again, is that actually at all realistic right now? There's little point running before you can walk, and little point launching into a spirited saunter before you've learned how to stand. Moores will bring about a revolution that will finally see England perpendicular to the floor and only then will he set about the difficult task of beating Northamptonshire et al.
England will play in new locations
Lancashire's County Championship-winning season was notable for the fact that they didn't play a single match at their home ground of Old Trafford. Instead, Moores' team made new homes for themselves here, there and everywhere. This kind of innovative thinking could see England playing in France and the Benelux countries, for example. A major advantage of this would be the ability to conceal the locations of all Test matches to prevent any journalists from attending. The resultant lack of pressure will allow the players to perform with the kind of freedom they'd ordinarily reserve for an early season warm-up match against Cambridge University. In fact, given the "walk before you can run" philosophy, Cambridge University may well prove to be England's first opponents.
Full postLancashire's County Championship-winning season was notable for the fact that they didn't play a single match at their home ground of Old Trafford. Instead, Moores' team made new homes for themselves here, there and everywhere. This kind of innovative thinking could see England playing in France and the Benelux countries, for example. A major advantage of this would be the ability to conceal the locations of all Test matches to prevent any journalists from attending. The resultant lack of pressure will allow the players to perform with the kind of freedom they'd ordinarily reserve for an early season warm-up match against Cambridge University. In fact, given the "walk before you can run" philosophy, Cambridge University may well prove to be England's first opponents.
An ex-president goes job-hunting
How does a people person with excellent conflict-resolution skills find employment?
James Marsh
Apr 21, 2014, 4:59 AM
What's an ex-president of a major cricket board to do when time is finally called on his years of thankless public service? You've spent so long clinging on to office in a manner that makes stromatolites look as if they lack staying power, only to find something as trifling as your nation's legal process insisting you're booted out on your ear. There's no guarantee the ICC will want to keep you on in a nice cosy post, so you're left with no choice but to look for alternative employment, and to head unenthusiastically down to your local job centre.
Employment officer: Thanks for coming in. I'm just going to ask a few questions to see what sort of work you might be suited for. So, let's kick off with an easy one. What are your core strengths?
Ex-president: I'm a people person.
Full postShocking finding: cricket administrator 'not a crook'
Unearthing of honest official in administration sends world reeling
Alan Tyers
Apr 18, 2014, 3:46 AM
The sport of cricket was left stunned today after a court ruled that a leading administrator was "not corrupt".
An Indian court found that Lakshmi Dev, a high-ranking cricket bureaucrat, had "seemingly never done anything fraudulent".
There was further shock when the court said, "He also appears to be broadly competent."
Full postFamed Arctic explorer speaks to IPL team
Motivational talk to KKR side does not quite go according to plan
R Rajkumar
Apr 15, 2014, 5:46 AM
The following is the transcript of Mike Horn's first pep talk, given to the KKR team days before the start of IPL 7
Hello, my name is Mike Horn and I'm here to talk to you today about my experiences as an adventurer, explorer, spiritual athlete, and out-and-out cricketball enthusiast. If I am able to motivate even one of you today towards adapting my teachings to cricketball scenarios, and at least ten of you towards buying a copy of my book, No Peak Too High, No Depth Too Low: Mike Horn's Guide to Responsible Gallivanting (available today at a special one-time-only KKR price), then I will have done my job.
I'm sorry, what? Oh. Well, I have just been informed by coach Bayliss (a man who certainly knows his stuff) that the name of the game is cricket, and not cricketball. Ha ha, well, of course it is. I couldn't have very well played a vital part in India's 50-over World Series win in 2011 without knowing something as basic as that, could I? No, I was merely testing you lot to see if you were listening, that is all. It's a thing we motivational speakers do all the time.
Full postWhat do Australia's cricketers do on holiday?
Featuring X-Box, movies, seclusion, karate, steak dinners and suchlike debauchery
Matt Cleary
Apr 14, 2014, 4:57 AM
It's footy season here in Australia, which means, blessedly, there's no cricket. Love the game like a man loves a hamburger that he's paid to eat, but my, the game's on too much. In Australia cricket fills the summer like wallpaper coating Manhattan. It goes from late September to late March, and is totally ubiquitous. And not in a good way, like with oxygen, but ubiquitous like ads for reality television, shows about celebrity wannabes singing and dancing on ice, a pox on these things and their makers.
Anyway.
Cricket's not on in Australia at the moment. Even the World T20 passed like a house guest, an extremely shy uni student from Bangladesh who stayed in your granny-flat, kept to himself, and was gone in a week. Who was he again? Never mind. And so a cricket column this time of year is somewhat problematic.
Full postECB to launch annual to rival Wisden
New tome to feature the best of English (and Indian) cricket
Alan Tyers
Apr 11, 2014, 5:26 AM
This week saw the publication of the 151st edition of the "bible of cricket", and so successful has the brand proved that the ECB now wishes to introduce an almanack of its own. The new book will be edited by Giles Clarke and will feature:
Five Cricketers of the Year
Focusing on players who have shown themselves to be highly committed to the team ethos over the course of the year, with especial consideration given to cricketers who are really good blokes to have around the place and/or are very much buying into the project. Success with bat or ball not a contributing factor in the selection process.
Focusing on players who have shown themselves to be highly committed to the team ethos over the course of the year, with especial consideration given to cricketers who are really good blokes to have around the place and/or are very much buying into the project. Success with bat or ball not a contributing factor in the selection process.
Notes from the Editor
The keynote text of the annual, this will be personally written by Giles Clarke (once he has cleared everything with N Srinivasan). Is expected to focus on the single biggest issue facing cricket today: fans possibly watching the odd game on an illegal internet stream.
Full postThe keynote text of the annual, this will be personally written by Giles Clarke (once he has cleared everything with N Srinivasan). Is expected to focus on the single biggest issue facing cricket today: fans possibly watching the odd game on an illegal internet stream.
Inside the ECB spin camp
The top dogs in the England think tank show us how it's done
James Marsh
Apr 10, 2014, 5:41 AM
ECB media training headquarters, Loughborough, April 2014. In front of a small group of students stand managing director Paul Downton and captain Alastair Cook. They are holding very modern clipboards.
Downton: Right, guys. Thank you all for coming. Basically, Alastair and I have asked you here today to try and see if our core competences can help you reboot your communication strategies. So can I just get a few names?
Sir Winston Churchill: I'm Sir Winston Churchill.
Full postSri Lanka's multi-captain strategy all the rage
And other revelations from the climactic stages of the World T20
R Rajkumar
Apr 7, 2014, 5:16 AM
Sri Lanka's multi-captaincy policy all the rage
Sri Lanka's championship-winning policy of confusing the opposition with a preponderance of captains is all set to be the new rage in T20 strategy.
Sri Lanka's championship-winning policy of confusing the opposition with a preponderance of captains is all set to be the new rage in T20 strategy.
"It makes complete sense in hindsight," said one commentator. "Okay, there may be times when no one in the team is quite sure who is calling the shots on the field, but guess what? Neither does the opposition, and that's a good thing. It's genius."
Teams have already started implementing changes based on the Sri Lankan model, with India set to assign two extra captains in addition to MS Dhoni - Virat Kohli as trophy-posing captain for photo shoots, and Yuvraj Singh as the captain who, like Dinesh Chandimal, inexplicably "opts out" of playing matches altogether. For good, most likely.
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