Nandrolone, weathering a Gayle and the S word
A look at the week that was
Anil Nair
23-Oct-2006
Click here to see a selection of the best pictures of the week
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A different kind of high
It's been one unrelenting season of controversies for Pakistan. First came the Test forfeiture at The Oval, then captaincy musical chairs and now the doping scandal. But if Pakistan's penchant for controversy ceases to surprise, even less, it would seem, is their ability to turn a crisis into a challenge. Despite losing their opening bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif - both sent back home after testing positive for the steroid Nandrolone - and already without Inzamam, they still managed to outplay a formidable Sri Lankan side caught on the breeze of their own growing self-confidence. But missing Shoaib and Asif for the long term, especially the World Cup, can be another matter altogether. Of course the jury is literally out on whether they ingested the substance by design rather than accident. Shoaib was quick to protest his innocence, although his past track record of run-ins with authority - though unrelated - are unlikely to work for him. Might it be one controversy too far for the Rawalpindi Express?
It's been one unrelenting season of controversies for Pakistan. First came the Test forfeiture at The Oval, then captaincy musical chairs and now the doping scandal. But if Pakistan's penchant for controversy ceases to surprise, even less, it would seem, is their ability to turn a crisis into a challenge. Despite losing their opening bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif - both sent back home after testing positive for the steroid Nandrolone - and already without Inzamam, they still managed to outplay a formidable Sri Lankan side caught on the breeze of their own growing self-confidence. But missing Shoaib and Asif for the long term, especially the World Cup, can be another matter altogether. Of course the jury is literally out on whether they ingested the substance by design rather than accident. Shoaib was quick to protest his innocence, although his past track record of run-ins with authority - though unrelated - are unlikely to work for him. Might it be one controversy too far for the Rawalpindi Express?
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Clarke weathers a Gayle
Chris Gayle has always been one cool dude, with his stand-and-deliver sixes and refusing to field anywhere but in the slips, even when successive captains have discreetly suggested that business seldom gets done that way. It must have been preying on his mind, that limbo between being a liability and turning into a leader, with Lara off the field sporting a sore back. A defeat imminent against Australia in Mumbai, he seemed to have decided that it was time to act. After an early wobble, Adam Gilchrist and Michael Clarke were cruising along. Gayle ignored the grizzled veteran, focusing instead on Pup and began an extended exchange of pleasantries. Exactly what transpired is anybody's guess but since matters didn't culminate in a head-butt, no lip readers were pressed into service. Judging from Gayle's demeanor it's unlikely that he was cracking just 'Yo' Momma's so stupid' jokes or those of the 'it's red, it's round and weighs five ounces' variety. Clarke throughout appeared to maintain his cool, even managing a smile, which clearly outraged commentators who felt that the umpires were seemingly oblivious of what was going on. As it turned out the officials had taken notice and next day, Gayle was fined 30% of his match fee. The widespread suspicion was that Clarke couldn't have been so innocent after all and that he had provoked Gayle by calling him a "second class citizen", something which Clarke later vehemently denied, claiming that his own working-class origins would never make him stoop so low. Gayle had the last laugh, though, as West Indies beat Australia by ten runs.
Chris Gayle has always been one cool dude, with his stand-and-deliver sixes and refusing to field anywhere but in the slips, even when successive captains have discreetly suggested that business seldom gets done that way. It must have been preying on his mind, that limbo between being a liability and turning into a leader, with Lara off the field sporting a sore back. A defeat imminent against Australia in Mumbai, he seemed to have decided that it was time to act. After an early wobble, Adam Gilchrist and Michael Clarke were cruising along. Gayle ignored the grizzled veteran, focusing instead on Pup and began an extended exchange of pleasantries. Exactly what transpired is anybody's guess but since matters didn't culminate in a head-butt, no lip readers were pressed into service. Judging from Gayle's demeanor it's unlikely that he was cracking just 'Yo' Momma's so stupid' jokes or those of the 'it's red, it's round and weighs five ounces' variety. Clarke throughout appeared to maintain his cool, even managing a smile, which clearly outraged commentators who felt that the umpires were seemingly oblivious of what was going on. As it turned out the officials had taken notice and next day, Gayle was fined 30% of his match fee. The widespread suspicion was that Clarke couldn't have been so innocent after all and that he had provoked Gayle by calling him a "second class citizen", something which Clarke later vehemently denied, claiming that his own working-class origins would never make him stoop so low. Gayle had the last laugh, though, as West Indies beat Australia by ten runs.
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Tresco and the S word
"One minute he's got a runny nose, then he's got a sore leg, then he's got personal problems. You don't know what to believe." Stuart Law merely put into words what the rest of the world has been wondering about Marcus Trescothick. In modern-day sports, so suffused with testosterone and where its Alpha males are supposed to be the model of stoicism and sangfroid, emotions are best left bottled up. Blow out your knee, get on the wrong side of the law, fail a drug test, and even the opposition will still be behind you. But hint at being stressed out or at some kind of mental or emotional fragility, and you become an untouchable. At the end of a disappointing 2006 season, which began with a tearful departure from England's tour of India in March and concluded with a first-ball duck against Pakistan at the Rose Bowl in September, Tresco admitted the pressures of touring life had worn him down. "There are lots of people who have experienced the things I've been experiencing - but not all of them open the batting for England and have to try and put on a brave face in public," he said on Thursday, adding that he had put it all behind and was raring to go. Doing well in the Ashes and World Cup, he insisted, "would be perfect therapy". Not least, Tresco thanked the England management and the Professional Cricketers Association for having been very supportive, not something you could say of most other sports or, within cricket itself, about many other cultures.
"One minute he's got a runny nose, then he's got a sore leg, then he's got personal problems. You don't know what to believe." Stuart Law merely put into words what the rest of the world has been wondering about Marcus Trescothick. In modern-day sports, so suffused with testosterone and where its Alpha males are supposed to be the model of stoicism and sangfroid, emotions are best left bottled up. Blow out your knee, get on the wrong side of the law, fail a drug test, and even the opposition will still be behind you. But hint at being stressed out or at some kind of mental or emotional fragility, and you become an untouchable. At the end of a disappointing 2006 season, which began with a tearful departure from England's tour of India in March and concluded with a first-ball duck against Pakistan at the Rose Bowl in September, Tresco admitted the pressures of touring life had worn him down. "There are lots of people who have experienced the things I've been experiencing - but not all of them open the batting for England and have to try and put on a brave face in public," he said on Thursday, adding that he had put it all behind and was raring to go. Doing well in the Ashes and World Cup, he insisted, "would be perfect therapy". Not least, Tresco thanked the England management and the Professional Cricketers Association for having been very supportive, not something you could say of most other sports or, within cricket itself, about many other cultures.
A star too many
First the FTP, then the marketing rights issue, now Mohammad Azharuddin. The Indian board, it seems, can rarely resist the temptation to thumb its nose at the ICC. The BCCI has invited Azharuddin, banned for life following the match-fixing scandal, for its CK Nayadu awards function on November 4 in Mumbai and, predictably, the ICC warned the Indians about the message this would send out, considering that the air is yet to be fully cleared on the issue. The ICC is holding its own annual awards night on November 3, also in Mumbai, and the stage was set for mutual embarrassment as both sides hinted at boycotting the other's function. Also, the ICC, to prove that it won't be at the mercy of its hosts, is trying to get Bollywood stars involved to lend a glamorous sheen to the occasion. "It will be a glittering night with most of the top stars of the Hindi film industry," a spokesman for Wizcraft, the event manager for the ICC function said. For once the BCCI was stumped. "We have enough stars. We don't need film stars," was all that Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, could muster in the way of retort, as the cricket-cinema combo threatens to overshadow the BCCI event.
First the FTP, then the marketing rights issue, now Mohammad Azharuddin. The Indian board, it seems, can rarely resist the temptation to thumb its nose at the ICC. The BCCI has invited Azharuddin, banned for life following the match-fixing scandal, for its CK Nayadu awards function on November 4 in Mumbai and, predictably, the ICC warned the Indians about the message this would send out, considering that the air is yet to be fully cleared on the issue. The ICC is holding its own annual awards night on November 3, also in Mumbai, and the stage was set for mutual embarrassment as both sides hinted at boycotting the other's function. Also, the ICC, to prove that it won't be at the mercy of its hosts, is trying to get Bollywood stars involved to lend a glamorous sheen to the occasion. "It will be a glittering night with most of the top stars of the Hindi film industry," a spokesman for Wizcraft, the event manager for the ICC function said. For once the BCCI was stumped. "We have enough stars. We don't need film stars," was all that Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, could muster in the way of retort, as the cricket-cinema combo threatens to overshadow the BCCI event.
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Dog-day afternoon
Just a month to go for the most-hyped Ashes in recent history and Matthew Hayden is getting some unwanted attention. First a broken finger while taking a catch, then a stray dog snaps at his ankle while he is out jogging. "It just hasn't been my week," he said, adding that it won't in any way affect his readiness for the first Test at the Gabba on November 23. Typical? But then what else could one expect from someone who has stared down the harshest of challenges and called them codswallop. The interesting question, though, is what provoked the dog. A mongrel surely wouldn't dare take a chance at a hulking presence like Hayden would it? English sabotage, then, coming on the heels of all that talk of Ashes hooligans descending on Sydney? Or was it that Hayden was just trying to be friendly with a strange dog, with the proverbial result? Mark Waugh seems to have a point here, in warning about the dangers of going soft, "[how it] takes away that little bit of aura you might have out on the field." Applies to the Ashes, and animals too it would seem.
Just a month to go for the most-hyped Ashes in recent history and Matthew Hayden is getting some unwanted attention. First a broken finger while taking a catch, then a stray dog snaps at his ankle while he is out jogging. "It just hasn't been my week," he said, adding that it won't in any way affect his readiness for the first Test at the Gabba on November 23. Typical? But then what else could one expect from someone who has stared down the harshest of challenges and called them codswallop. The interesting question, though, is what provoked the dog. A mongrel surely wouldn't dare take a chance at a hulking presence like Hayden would it? English sabotage, then, coming on the heels of all that talk of Ashes hooligans descending on Sydney? Or was it that Hayden was just trying to be friendly with a strange dog, with the proverbial result? Mark Waugh seems to have a point here, in warning about the dangers of going soft, "[how it] takes away that little bit of aura you might have out on the field." Applies to the Ashes, and animals too it would seem.
Quotehanger
"This [poor crowd turnout] makes me wonder if cricket is a religion in India? Let me rephrase it then: it's Indian cricket that is a religion in India." - Former player and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar deconstructs the over-hyped Indian passion for the game, as Champions Trophy matches not featuring India unfold in empty stadiums.
"This [poor crowd turnout] makes me wonder if cricket is a religion in India? Let me rephrase it then: it's Indian cricket that is a religion in India." - Former player and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar deconstructs the over-hyped Indian passion for the game, as Champions Trophy matches not featuring India unfold in empty stadiums.
Anil Nair is managing editor of Cricinfo in India.