Tour Diary
Footloose in the Pink City
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
At Hawa Mahal, that most famous of Jaipur landmarks, in the heart of the district known as the Pink City, a procession straight out of a mini zoo held up traffic. There were two elephants, decked out in finery at the head, a clutch of camels behind them, and then horses, giving way to people on foot. They were celebrating – quite obviously and noisily, oblivious to the fact that they had brought traffic to a grinding halt – and part of the celebrations was some genius setting off firecrackers. One particularly loud boom, and the elephants had taken it enough, they began to backtrack, and the camels, fearing for their lives, followed suit, sending the whole procession into pandemonium. If he had scripted a scene to capture with his camera, Imran Khan, the West Indian media manager, could not have come up with something better.
Ever since he has been in India, his first time to the country, Imran has been taking pictures and posting them on his blog, named Blue Billion, after the cola advertising campaign that has caught the fancy of the nation, and has people yelling “Ooh aah India, aa-ya India” at matches around the country. He’s not the first foreigner to do that, and he won’t be the last, and already some of his pictures have ruffled feathers, with some Indians writing in to his blog complaining that he was only taking pictures of poverty and filth. Imran’s been around a bit, though, and it takes more than a few comments of this kind to deter him.
Full postTaking a reality check
There's been a lot of myth-busting during the course of the Champions Trophy
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
There's been a lot of myth-busting during the course of the Champions Trophy.
Three stand out.
1. Asia is not cricket's power centre, it's just a power centre for driving
cricket.
For the first time since the 1975 World Cup, no Asian team made it to the semi-final of a major event. Curiously they played a part in each others demise. Sri Lanka walloped West Indies, topped the qualifier leg and entered Group B. That left West Indies in Group A and having got India's number in five out of their past seven meetings, they duly pushed them to the brink of elimination.
Full postOf evesdropping and private conversations
Dravid didn’t hide his disappointment when asked about the media “blowing up” what Chappell had told the team, telling them about how they “slouch” and “joke” and “loiter” and blah
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
There are two ways to look at Greg Chappell’s public dressing down of the team, on the even of the West Indies clash at Ahmedabad. Either, as Rahul Dravid suggested yesterday, the media were unnecessarily “evesdropping into a private conversation” or that Chappell actually wanted the world to know what he was saying.
Dravid didn’t hide his disappointment when asked about the media “blowing up” what Chappell had told the team, telling them about how they “slouch” and “joke” and “loiter” and blah. “It’s a very unfortunate incident when a private conversation between a coach and players were heard and used out of context,” he said. “People obviously haven’t understood what he was saying or what he was trying to say. I’ve played with 7-8 coaches and I haven’t heard anything different. It’s the times that we live in where everything is blown out of proportion. If people want to evesdrop on someone’s private conversation, so be it. That’s not what I would have done.”
But, irrespective of the times you live in, don’t you expect to be overheard when you’re just a few metres from the media? Or maybe the media needed to bring out their earmuffs and silently slink away, starting their own private conversations.
Full postMotera is the new Mohali
Anand Vasu was in a for a pleasant surprise when he found out that folks at the Gujarat Cricket Association are even friendlier than the ones at Mohali
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
The Punjabis are famous for their hospitality, and if you’re covering cricket you’d certainly know what I’m talking about. The officials and staff at the Punjab Cricket Association in Mohali are among the most courteous, efficient and helpful. It was something you got nowhere else in India. Until now. It might not please Mr. Bindra and some of his colleagues, but the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) is now, officially, the venue that makes you feel most comfortable, covering cricket, in the country.
Covering cricket at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad, used to be a nightmare. When I first came here, for the New Zealand Test match in 1999, the reception was far from warm, the press box a shambles, and the whole area a dustbowl. But now, it’s a completely different story. If you have a minute, listen to a couple of stories.
Full postIt's in the stars
The Australians might be the bookies' favourite to win against India, but astrologers - 'leading' ones of course - predict differently
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Whether India is cricket crazy, or Indian-cricket crazy, or Indian-cricketer crazy has become a gentle rumbling debate over the last few days as stands have been gapingly empty for most matches in the Champions Trophy, while India matches have drawn large and boisterous crowds. But if you'd like a sample of a certain kind of craziness, you need look no further than one story that appeared in a newspaper in Ahmedabad on the eve of India's match against West Indies.
After a detailed tale about how the betting for each match has crossed Rs. 250 crore - and it is well known that there's plenty of illegal gambling in Gujarat, on everything from politics to sport - the report claims that bookies have pegged, surprise surprise, Australia as favourites to win the
Champions Trophy. But, as if to counter the many unnamed punters who have kindly provided these inputs, the newspaper runs a story alongside saying what a "leading astrologer based in city" had to say.
Full postDiwali aur naya saal mubarak
“Diwali aur naya saal Mubarak” is the one phrase you heard more than anything else in Ahmedabad when the cricket came around to the city the second time around in the Champions Trophy
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
“Diwali aur naya saal Mubarak” (Happy Diwali and a Happy New Year) is the one phrase you heard more than anything else in Ahmedabad when the cricket came around to the city the second time around in the Champions Trophy. It began with the taxi driver at the airport, continued to the staff at the hotel, reached fever pitch with Gujarat Cricket Association officials at the ground, and finally tipping point when an English cricket fan, who has traveled half the way round the world, pointed it out. “Even Tony Blair’s said it in his message, mate,” he said, putting his Union Jack away and cursing this state for being under prohibition. Alright then, saal mubarak to you too. He couldn’t be serious … Blair?
A quick check of the British prime minister’s press office reveals that he did indeed put out a message to his subjects on the day. “It is a time when the family is centre stage. An opportunity, more valuable than ever with the frantic pace of modern life, to reflect on what we have achieved - and on our hopes and ambitions for the future,” says the note. It’s a good thing he didn’t revisit that other Diwali theme – the victory of good over evil, as England had just been thumped by Australia and, for all practical purposes, been knocked out of the tournament.
Full postCricket and wardrobe malfunctions
New Zealand, known around the world as the Black Caps, for their distinctive black gear, simply had numbers printed on the back of their shirts, not names
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
It was great news for New Zealand just before the game against Sri Lanka began. 27 and 56 were fit. Then, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, 7 said 70 and 50 would have to sit out. Confused already? New Zealand, known around the world as the Black Caps, for their distinctive black gear, simply had numbers printed on the back of their shirts, not names, as is the common practice for teams around the world.
The International Cricket Council, though, said that there was nothing in their rules or norms that stipulated that teams needed to have the names of players on kit. “The teams are required to give us the squad numbers of each player,” an ICC spokesperson told Cricinfo. “There’s nothing that states that players have to wear their names on their shirts.”
Full post'Go back to Pakistan'
Around two hours before the start of the Pakistan – Sri Lanka clash, around 100 local Shiv Sanaiks, the Hindu fundamentalist organisation, staged a protest outside the Sawai Man Singh Stadium
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
Around two hours before the start of the Pakistan – Sri Lanka clash, around 100 local Shiv Sanaiks, the Hindu fundamentalist organisation, staged a protest outside the Sawai Man Singh Stadium. The group was supposed to have represented the local district association of Shiv Sena. Those involved in the protests held banners that read ‘No place for terrorists’ and ‘Go back to Pakistan’. However, the police sprung into action immediately and hushed up the protesters without too much ado.
Full postInzy arrives
Not the real one but the look alike
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
Inzy is here. Not the real one but the look alike. Mukesh Sukhwani, who’s often spotted in Indian grounds, has arrived in Jaipur.
He is deeply disturbed by the events that have occurred around the Pakistani camp over the last couple of days and has pledged his full support to the team.
Full postIncongruous City
Not long ago, Suketu Mehta wrote a riveting book on Mumbai and its underbelly and ever since, television channels reporting events in the metropolis are referring to it by the name Mehta gave it – Maximum City
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Not long ago, Suketu Mehta wrote a riveting book on Mumbai and its underbelly and ever since, television channels reporting events in the metropolis are referring to it by the name Mehta gave it – Maximum City. It should surprise no-one if Mehta’s sequel – if he ever gets down to writing one – is called Minimum City. For in the same breath, it is both Maximum and Minimum, and the incongruity of it all came home at the Brabourne Stadium, when South Africa took on New Zealand.
While the stands were nowhere near full – no-one is even expecting that to happen but for high-profile India matches – there was a decent smattering of fans in the stands. The East Stand, the cheapest of the lot, where you had to sit on benches, in the full glare of the skin-peeling October sun, where gatekeepers wouldn’t let you out for a cigarette all day, the real faithful put in a stellar effort to watch cricket. In the stands to the left and right of the press box, where you paid up to Rs 5000 to occupy a plastic chair, and were mercifully in the shade, there was a good turn out.
At the far end of the ground, the Pavilion End, are the best seats in the house. Right behind the bowler’s arm, three magnificent floors of the clubhouse, give you pretty much the finest cricket viewing in the city. Naturally, there was plenty of clamour for that building before the game – with the press putting in an application to house the media facilities there. That would have meant the possibility of an airconditioned box, and comfortable conditions to work in. But the members of the Cricket Club in India would have none of it. They were up in arms to ensure that their rights were protected – am I the only one getting sick of that phrase? – and they got their wish. Even the ICC – which has boxes for its officials and for corporate hospitality – were kept out of the main pavilion – and housed instead at the top of the West Stand. The press were shunted to the Churchgate End.
And what happened when the match came around? The members of this great club were cooling their heels at home, or hard at work, or getting a manicure, or whatever else it is they do when there’s an international match at their ground. All three floors – where members and their spouses got in for free – were frustratingly empty, even as the public, who had shelled out good money, toughed it out in the other stands.
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