The Surfer
'Chappell not to blame' - Doshi
How much of the blame should be laid at coach Greg Chappell's doorstep?
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
How much of the blame should be laid at coach Greg Chappell's doorstep?
Dilip Doshi Not more than 10 per cent because I believe in a team game; its all about owning collective responsibility. What can a coach do, if his advice is not followed or strategies not implemented? It would be a crime to make a Greg the scapegoat for India's World Cup show.
Do you agree that Chappell indulged in too much experimentation?
I have heard this before. If giving youth a fair chance is experimentation, then every coach is guilty of doing so. I think Greg simply didn't have enough time to rebuild Team India.
Full postIndian cricket and the volatile Blue Billion
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
The months prior to India's World Cup campaign and the days after have witnessed extremities in emotions among the Indian public, including obscene displays of hatred towards the same players fans once worshipped. But is it justified? Is it fair to blame the sponsors and the players themselves who endorse products? Vir Sanghvi has a valid point by saying that perhaps it's time for all frenzied Indian fans to take a long, hard look at themselves and accept their gullibility instead of being so unforgiving to the cricketers.
It wasn't that we didn't love cricket in 1983. It just wasn't as big a business then. Andso, there was nothing like the 2007 hysteria those days. The unrealistic optimism surrounding our optimism this year was largely a creation of marketers who wanted to exploit our gullibility to flog their products.
The secret of Lankan cricket's good health
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
There are a variety of reasons for Sri Lankan cricket's excellent health. The players, selectors, administrators, coaches, and above all, the fans, have contributed to it. But there is an unseen factor which needs recognition, namely, Sri Lankan culture, especially the culture of the majority community, the Sinhalese, writes P.K Balachandran, Special Correspondent of the Hindustan Times in Colombo.
"They had a hunger for the game. Playing for the country was something very big for the small town boys. They worked hard also because they had few other preoccupations, unlike the ones from Colombo's elite schools who were into studies and computers"
'Ego brought Team India to its knees'
“Do I love India?” Or do I love my state more
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
“Do I love India?” Or do I love my state more? Are administrators thinking more about their own associations, their own grants, their own players? Inherently, a team cannot progress unless every constituent has the same objective. Gujarat, or Maharashtra, having three teams does not help India because it dilutes the stream in which young talent bathes. Not even Barbados in its prime could have possessed 45 first class standard cricketers in a year. But three teams from a state means three votes, three grants. So what then is the primary objective? Producing tough cricketers for India or protecting the vote and the grant? Yes, everybody loves India but it is conditional and that condition is hurting Indian cricket badly.
Read the entire piece by Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express.
Ajit Wadekar hits out at critics who are baying for the seniors in the Indian team.
how can we go ahead and criticise somebody of the stature of Sourav Ganguly, the best captain India has ever produced? And Rahul Dravid? He is rated as the best batsman in any condition against any attack, on any wicket. How can we deny them their genius? How can we talk so irresponsibly? Do we really have to sacrifice these greats just because they are in their early thirties? If only a little attention was given to their fitness, by preserving their energy and not playing them in six-penny tournaments like the one in Malaysia or Timbuktu. Then you would have got a set of fit, nimble-footed, talented stars even now. Consider the average age of the team. Except maybe Bangladesh or the West Indies, India are much better off. Are the likes of Matthew Hayden, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Brian Lara, Stephen Fleming and Sanath Jayasuriya just out of their cots?
Warne and Hair pack their bags
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Shane Warne has flown off to live in England for two years with his family, according to a report in Melbourne’s Herald Sunday Sun. Warne will play for Hampshire after retiring from Tests in January.
While Warne is leaving Australia, Darrell Hair is moving back. Robert Craddock writes in the Sunday Mail of the umpire's return to Sydney.
Full postPowerful Tait finds his place
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
In The Age, Chloe Saltau profiles Shaun Tait, who grew up in a small town in South Australia and still has that country aura about him.
The new spearhead of the Australian attack is stretched out on the turf of the Antigua Recreation Ground, home of one his fast bowling heroes, Curtly Ambrose. He is as natural and as uncoached as a modern international cricketer can be. As Phil Tait [his father] puts it, "he's not up himself".
Cover-up a viewer turn-off
Batsmen may be happier and safer wearing helmets, but, according to the Sydney Morning Herald , they prevent fans seeing the batsmen's faces, which, market research has found, makes it hard for them to relate to the players.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
Batsmen may be happier and safer wearing helmets, but, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, they prevent fans seeing the batsmen's faces, which, market research has found, makes it hard for them to relate to the players.
But, as Philip Derriman notes, it’s not all gloom.
If they're bad for TV, they're about the only thing in cricket that is. In other respects, cricket is a broadcaster's dream. It lasts all day; the main action is concentrated in a smallish area; it's essentially a one-on-one (bowler-against-batsman) contest; the game lends itself to endless analysis by commentators; and the short breaks between overs are ideal for slotting in commercials.
Nets provide more frustration for Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff is still having a tough time in the West Indies, according to David Hopps in The Guardian .
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Andrew Flintoff is still having a tough time in the West Indies, according to David Hopps in The Guardian.
The nets at the Providence Stadium were under water a few days ago, not quite deep enough for Flintoff to dream of some more late-night watersports but damp enough to make them dangerously frisky as England practised ahead of their opening Super Eights game against Ireland. When one delivery went through the top, Flintoff stalked into a different net. The next ball flew off a length and struck him on the glove as he took evasive action. He immediately abandoned his net session and threw his bat 10 metres into the side netting.
Yee haw! Cricket power rankings!
He's finding it more difficult to care by the day, but ESPN.com's Page 2 cricket corespondent is compelled to reveal his Super Eight at what he terms the "never-ending" World Cup.
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
He's finding it more difficult to care by the day, but ESPN.com's Page 2 cricket corespondent is compelled to reveal his Super Eight at what he terms the "never-ending" World Cup.
Michael Davies, a British-born television producer, feels the World Cup shouldn't have gone on after Bob Woolmer's death, but then offers ten satyrical reasons not to care about the tournament.
Sample this:
Full postChappell's 'processes' contradicted Indian approach
A lot of people are taking potshots at the Indian team following their World Cup debacle
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
A lot of people are taking potshots at the Indian team following their World Cup debacle. Greg Chappell's future is the debate of endless newspapers, television channels and tabloids. Rahul Dravid's credibility as captain has been questioned. Irate fans have stoned houses and burnt effigies. Javagal Srinath, writing in the Hindustan Times, just questions what is best for Chappell.
Should he, given an opportunity, continue and try to implement his 'processes', or should he leave in a dignified manner? If he quits, the next question would be, who should replace Greg? India's premature exit has opened up a Pandora's Box.