Samir Chopra
India's Great Misses: Exhibit One - the 1979 Oval Test
Of all the Test matches that India has let slip from its grasp in its cricketing history, three rankle me in particular
Samir Chopra
25-Feb-2013
Of all the Test matches that India has let slip from its grasp in its cricketing history, three rankle me in particular. As India start a 13-month schedule of Test cricket, which could cement their standing as No. 1 and turn them into undisputed world champions, they might want to think about how three matches that should have been wins turned into draws. Hopefully, India won't make the mistakes they made in these three games if they want to be world champions, not just in terms of rankings but also in terms of perception.
Exhibit Numero Uno in this rogues' gallery is the Oval test of 1979, the fourth test of the series with England, arranged to take place after India's disastrous outing in the 1979 World Cup. India had lost the first test by an innings, saved the second after being bowled out for 96 on the first day, and weathered an Ian Botham-storm bravely in the rain-ruined third. Things didn't improve much in the fourth. India conceded a 102-run first innings lead, and on the fourth day, with plenty of time left in the match, found themselves chasing 438 to win.
Incredibly enough, thanks to the innings of lifetime from Sunil Gavaskar, which aided and abetted a 213-run opening stand with Chetan Chauhan, and a 153-run second wicket partnership with Dilip Vengsarkar, India were, at one stage, 366-1. India had begun the twenty mandatory overs at 328-1, needing five and a half runs over to win. Run chases at that pace were not common back then, and required the raising of a team's game.
Full postPackaging sledging as entertainment
A few weeks ago, I read a little story by Eknath Solkar about the time he made Geoff Boycott his bunny on the 1971 tour
Samir Chopra
25-Feb-2013
A few weeks ago, I read a little story by Eknath Solkar about the time he made Geoff Boycott his bunny on the 1971 tour. As I read the piece a line caught my eye:
In the second innings of the first Test at Old Trafford, I was fielding at forward short leg when he tried to flick Abid Ali away. I stopped the ball instinctively and challenged him to run, wagging my finger at him as I spoke. He was taken aback. In the very next over, I got him to edge one and Farokh Engineer took a wonderful diving catch, almost at first slip.
It was certainly the first time I'd read of any such interaction between Solkar and Boycott, though I knew about Boycott's difficulties against Solkar's amiable seamers.
Full postThe Night of the Living Refund-Seekers
As I staggered home, on a commuter train that Sunday night, I resembled most of all, those zombie-like creatures that had lined up just a few days previously, demanding their precious US $10, denied, cruelly, what would have been for them, the most
Samir Chopra
25-Feb-2013
In 1987, I had just moved to the United States and was dealing with the sad loss of cricketing access as best as I could. When the World Cup rolled around, my sense of deprivation grew even worse. Was there no end to this cruelty, I thought? I cursed myself for ever having succumbed to the "onwards to the US for graduate studies" bug. What price US F-1, indeed, if it meant denial of cricketing pleasures? I, who had been so eager to bid my park cricket friends farewell on the night of my departure flight, now bitterly regretted ever having left. There was no Internet, no Cricinfo, no rec.sport.cricket (newsgroups existed, of course, but I hadn't discovered them; heck, I hadn't worked out how to send email to non-Bitnet addresses).
And then, miraculously, as the Cup progressed, it seemed I would be delivered; perhaps a telecast of the World Cup final was possible via satellite hook-up. An enterprising Indian graduate student had figured out the technical details, and was now set to organise what could be quite a festive night: the final of the World Cup, telecast live on a Saturday night, onto two large projection screens in lecture theatres.
As the final approached, an India-Pakistan encounter looked likely: both teams had made it to the semi-finals. The US $10 tickets that the graduate student association had put on sale went like the proverbial hot cakes, as scores of hopeful subcontinentals lined up at the ticket desk I manned in the student centre. A sell-out was a foregone conclusion.
Full postCricket and the Goldilocks Principle: The Question of Governance
I finished reading two excellent books over the weekend: Gideon Haigh's latest, Sphere of Influence , and David Post's Jefferson's Moose: Notes on the States of Cyberspace
Samir Chopra
25-Feb-2013
I finished reading two excellent books over the weekend: Gideon Haigh's latest, Sphere of Influence, and David Post's Jefferson's Moose: Notes on the States of Cyberspace. The former is an Australian cricket writer, the game's master historian; the latter, an American professor of law at Temple University. The first book is about the current state of cricket; the latter, about Internet regulation. One concept the two books have in common, and indeed, are obsessed about, is "governance."
Post's analysis centers around the dualism of the Jeffersonian vs Hamiltonian models of governance for the Internet: should regulation flow from a strong, centralized authority or from decentralized, autonomous groups evolving modes and methods of co-operation and power-sharing? The success of the Internet seems to be explainable in terms of the latter, while worries about the loss of its unique "nature" seem to be centered around the fear that the former model will come to predominate.
Haigh is concerned about the game's governance: its present and its future prospects (readers familiar with his Cricinfo columns will know what he is up to in this dazzlingly written book). The picture painted is often a grim one, despite the fact that the ICC-national board structure seems to possess some of the features of the Jeffersonian model so beloved of Post. There is no strong centralized authority despite the presence of the ICC; the true power seems to lie in the hands of the various national boards. Calls for the ICC to "do something, anything, about X", where X happens to be the latest crisis riling the minds of players and fans alike, are inevitably met with a shrugged shoulder or two, and the brisk sweeping of the matter under the nearest rug.
Full postComing of Age as a Fan
I don't think I can point to another series after the 1976-77 one and declaim, "And by that time, my development as a fan was complete." Because while it is easy to point to the beginnings of one's education, it is unwise to mark the end
Samir Chopra
25-Feb-2013
Back in 1997, I attended a Yankees-Red Sox game at Yankees Stadium with my friend Tom and his father (the pair are veteran Red Sox fans). Shortly after the game ended, as we made our way out to the car park, I posed a question about base-stealing and its relationship to pitch counts, which was handled rather expertly by Tom's father. He then followed up with a query of his own, "I bet cricket is a pretty complicated game too?" And I replied, "Well, I've been following it seriously for 21 years now, and I keep learning things about it to this day."
Later that night, when I got back home, I wondered why I had said I had been following the game for 21 years. The answer wasn't hard to find:1976 was the year Tony Grieg's MCC team toured India, and I count my relationship with that series as marking the start of my 'serious' love-affair with the game, a series in which I 'came of age' - as a cricket fan. I was dimly conscious of Tony Lewis' outfit in 1972-73, and Clive Lloyd's West Indians in 1974-75 (indeed, the reason Andy Roberts and Viv Richards loom so large in my mind is because they seemed to be the talk of the town in those days). But it was the 'Winter of 1976' that did it for me.
Like players then, fans mature too. From that series I learned about the concept of a draw (the fifth Test in Bombay; the only drawn Test of the series, and which might, ironically, have been the closest and most engaging), different bowling styles (the Indian spinners, John Lever et al), nightwatchmen, captains' innings (Tony Greig's 'made with a fever' 103 in Calcutta), the importance of close-in fielders (Yajurvindra Singh's world-record equalling performance at Bangalore), ball-tampering (John Lever again) and so on. For the first time, I followed scores obsessively, tracked statistics, and started to become aware of the ebbs and flows of a Test. I consumed, rather rapaciously, the three forms of media coverage then available for cricket: newspapers, TV highlights and of course, radio commentary.
Full postIndia and Australia: Another delectable duet
A couple of posts ago , I wrote of my anguish at having missed out on a type of Test finish I'd always wanted to see
Samir Chopra
25-Feb-2013
A couple of posts ago, I wrote of my anguish at having missed out on a type of Test finish I'd always wanted to see. In the Bangalore Test, I felt the opportunity had come for India to pull off another kind of Test win that I don't normally associate with them: a close, aggressive chase on the last day. But I was pessimistic about this, because the business of taking the last three wickets was still unfinished. Would India be incisive enough to quickly wrap things up; would they chase hard, and not get flustered by early wickets if they fell? I still thought a draw could happen, and my cautiousness led me to pick this as the most likely result.
But, I didn't want to miss out on the end, so the alarm was duly set for 5 AM, and I staggered out to settle down for what I thought would be a close-run final session. Well, all I got was another 30 minutes of action. Not only had India ripped through the tail, they had scored at over four runs an over, sent in a debutant at number three ahead of Rahul Dravid, and generally bossed things on their way to a 2-0 win. The end of this series was surprising in more ways than one. The Australians faded fast, and their feebleness contrasted with India's aggression even more starkly as the day wore on. And so, this frustratingly short series drew to a close. My sleep patterns will be happy but the cricketing part of my brain won't.
This was a series that can, and should be, used to showcase Test cricket: it is possible for a side to lose two Tests after winning tosses and scoring more than 400 runs in the first innings of each Test; games can be dead even after three days and then swing (almost) decisively one way on the fourth day; one delivery can mean all the difference in retrospect (Steven Smith's throw, Billy Bowden's finger could have meant that India could have walked into the Bangalore test 0-1 down); and so on. The daily swings in momentum, sometimes large, sometimes miniscule, were fascinating, as were the many little battles between individuals. (Virender Sehwag lost his against the Aussie bowlers; but still, one can't be too displeased by the fact that India beat Australia without a significant contribution from him).
Full postCommentary on Internet Relay Chat
Okay, time for a little honesty: how many of you have talked in glowing terms about an innings that you haven't seen a ball of
Samir Chopra
25-Feb-2013
Okay, time for a little honesty: how many of you have talked in glowing terms about an innings that you haven't seen a ball of? Everyone, right? Good. That lets me start on a story about my favorite Sachin Tendulkar innings. Why am I bringing this up now? For several reasons: an India-Australia series is on; we have been talking about the acknowledged Indian master of the second innings, VVS Laxman; and lastly, in my last post, I talked about the trials and travails of the expat fan, condemned to unfriendly time-zones. To top things off, this story wouldn't have been possible without the generosity of an Australian cricket fan.
So here we are, back in 1998. I'm desperately struggling to finish my Ph.D. Funds and motivation are low; my landlord has been happy to extend the rent deadline a few times but I'm living on borrowed time (in a room in a third-floor walkup in Alphabet City in New York). But there is a silver lining on the horizon: Australia are touring India and there is hype aplenty in the air. As a significant part of my night-life consists of gazing enviously at those fortunate enough to spare greenbacks for grog, I can look forward to readymade entertainment to while away the midnight hours: Test match commentary.
But not your grandfather's Test match commentary. This is the line-by-line output of Dougie (and his human operators), the Magic Cricket Scorer on #cricket, the Internet Relay Chat's cricket channel (the commentary was on #cricket, the chat on #crickettalk). I have already significantly slowed down my doctoral pursuits by spending too many hours in this virtual lounge, and now, face the prospect of spending many more.
Full postMixed feelings: A fan's lament
So near and yet so far
Samir Chopra
25-Feb-2013
So near and yet so far. What a crushing disappointment to flirt with a long-held dream, only to have it cruelly denied. I speak not of Australia's failure to win the Mohali test, nor of Ricky Ponting's inability to win a test in India as captain. I speak, rather of my failure to watch India win a test by one wicket. I've dreamed and dreamed of a day when I would be watching a finish like this go down to the wire (don't ask why I would want to condemn myself to such painful suspense), and last night, I was cruelly denied by a combination of factors. Yes, I know this is a self-indulgent post, but please, indulge me, for I have hopes that my story will resonate with some.
So, as Monday night drew close to midnight on the east coast of the US, I faced a crucial decision. In terms of fandom and the competing calls made on one's time, this was about as critical as it gets. Should I stay up late and watch the match through to the end, or should I just wait for the highlights? Tuesday is a bad day at work for me. My first class meets at 9:30 in the morning, and my third at 6:30 in the evening. The time in-between involves meetings and an hour-long subway commute from Brooklyn to Manhattan. The telecast was scheduled to begin precisely at midnight, and there was little chance I would be able to pull off my usual "rise-at-5AM-to-watch-the-post-tea session" trick for games played in India. The game would be over, one way or the other, by then.
But I'm not a spring chicken any more, and all-nighters don't come easily - not that they ever did. And the thought of teaching Buddhism on only two hours of sleep filled me with something akin to the unease the young Siddartha might have felt on first being confronted by the sight of infirmity. On the other hand, I did know of an office on campus that I could sneak into for a quick nap during the afternoon. Should I risk it? Stay up till 5, grab two hours of sleep, fuel up on a couple of Americanos and then after powering through the Four Noble Truths, and then Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion at 11, hit the couch for a power nap?
Full postThe summer that went bad
The tour began as a showcase of England's hospitality and Pakistan's desperately-in-need-of-a-showcase cricket
Samir Chopra
25-Feb-2013
One of my favourite cartoons shows two couples sitting in a living room, on couches facing each other. The female half of one is saying to her spouse, "What do you mean 'we should get going'? We live here!" Yes, indeed, when guests overstay their welcome, things do get a little prickly.
I'm reminded of this cartoon as Pakistan's tour of England comes to an end. I doubt whether there has been any tour in the recent history of cricket, whose downward trajectory from the giddy heights of Mount FeelGood to Acrimony Canyon has been quite so steep. Like the desperately put-upon hosts in the cartoon above, England must have wanted the tour to end, and soon, even if it meant they would be the ones leaving (possibly to Spain, and not necessarily on a budget flight, to catch the end of the holiday season in Ibiza, where Jimmy Anderson could meet up with his many new friends).
The tour began as a showcase of England's hospitality and Pakistan's desperately-in-need-of-a-showcase cricket. It ended with talk of lawsuits and possible police complaints, and the Pakistani and English captains, both now safely ensconced at home, speaking of the stresses and strains they underwent, during the Summer Horribilis of 2010. No good deed, the English will ruefully note, goes unpunished.
Full postPlay to watch: The player as an informed spectator
The recently concluded US Open confirmed for me what I'd been suspecting for a few weeks leading into it: I'd really started to like watching tennis
Samir Chopra
25-Feb-2013
The recently concluded US Open confirmed for me what I'd been suspecting for a few weeks leading into it: I'd really started to like watching tennis. All over again. The graph of my tennis fanhood had probably peaked in the mid-1980s, and then steadily declined. Despite the brilliance of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, my interest in tennis never attained the heights it had reached when I was enthralled by the McEnroe-Borg rivalry. But this year, and the last, I'd noticed a renewed interest, and also managed to pinpoint a simple reason for it: I'd started to play tennis on a regular basis.
What does all of this have to do with cricket? My answer has two components. First, I'll note that sadly, cricket's hold on me seems to have declined, especially this year. Whether it is because I simply do not have the energy any more to deal with low-quality telecasts, the unfriendly time-zones, the lack of results in high-scoring subcontinental games, the proliferation of an unappealing format, the endless, nasty, nationalist bickering, the match-fixing or whatever else, cricket this year has played second fiddle to football, tennis and now, in the fall, baseball.
Secondly, I'll take note of two articles I'd previously penned here. In one, I wrote of how I didn't like playing cricket in the US because of the lack of cricketing context; and then another, in which, based on my experiences of watching cricket in Australia, it had seemed to me that a cricket-playing spectator was likely to have a more informed response to the game in front of him.
Full postMost Read
Writers