Cricket Crazy.....: March 2007

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Should Sachin Tendulkar retire!?

Read my other articles:
Shame on you Mr.Gavaskar!
Mr.Gavaskar, Your Popular Cricketers are returning to India!

Do I have the right to give my opinion on this?


Yes and No!
Yes, because, as an avid fan of Indian cricket in general and Sachin Tendulkar in particular, I can humbly put forth my view on this. I hope I have earned it.
No, because, Sachin Tendulkar is Mount Everest and I am a molehill!
But can an outsider without solicitation, in the garb of an Expert, make such a suggestion?
The answer is definitely NO!
So, Mr. Ian Chappel, keep your advice to yourself and continue doing what you are best at. That is cricket commentary. Who gave you the right to say, “Sachin Tendulkar should retire”?
If I read between the lines, I can deduce something sinister here.
I will tell you why!
After almost 3 years of coaching India, Greg Chappel has fallen flat on his face. His methods did not work. He is an utter failure as the coach of the Indian Cricket Team.
Under him Indian cricket team virtually disintegrated. He fanned the flame of rebellion when Ganguly was the captain. Succeeded in bringing down Ganguly from the captaincy and kicking him out unceremoniously from the team. Remember how he played the email politics to defame Sourabh Ganguly.
He got his man in Dravid to follow his commands to the letter. Got Zaheer Khan out. Confused Irfan Pathan and made him a zombie. Backed non-performers like Kaif and Suresh Raina at the cost of Venugopal Rao. If he had given Mr.Venugopal Rao half the chance he gave to Kaif, Raina, Sehwag, Mr.Rao would have established himself. Venu was and is a very talented cricketer.
He finished off Anil Kumble. Kumble was banished from One Day Cricket during most of Mr.Chappel Juniors tenure. Now Kumble has announced his retirement from one-day cricket. And Kumble is too nice a man to bring the skeletons from the closet. To put it mildly, Kumble was sidelined with tacit support from his so-called friend Dravid.
Chappel Junior almost finished Ganguly also. But the Bengali Tiger is more than what he anticipated. Only Ganguly had the guts and will power to overcome Chappel Juniors devious ways and come up trumps. Other lesser mortals succumbed and their souls are in grief because of their helplessness.
Dinesh Karthik is good. But saying he is captaincy material is atrocious. I think Chappel Junior has some grouse against Dhoni. On today's form of our team, Karthik should be selected as a batsman. But, like the saying, “some are greatness showered upon them (take the case of Rahul Gandhi)”, unearthing captaincy material in Dinesh Karthik is digging another grave for a hard working, honest cricketer like Dinesh Karthik.
Mr.Karthik, protect yourself from this friend! Or dig your own grave!
It is the divide and rule policy of the British, re-inventing in the form of the Mr.Greg Chappel.
And don’t get offended, my dear readers, our own Rahul Dravid is the accomplice, knowingly or unknowingly.
I think it is Unknowingly.
Dravid is a good man.
Dravid is a good man and a great batsman is beyond argument.
It is the colonial hangover. Whatever the white man says should be right. What ever he says is wisdom. English speaking skill is the sign that you are intelligent.
Dravid is a good man. But speaking his mother tongue Kannada is degrading to him. Siding with Kumble against Chappel’s wish is a sign of your idiocy. Showing rage, anger and humiliation when we lose a match is a sign of immaturity. You may say he was crying when we exited the 2007 World Cup. That was a tear of fear not of shame.
Compare to Ganguly, Rahul Dravid was a robot and Greg Chappel the master.
And now on to this SMS perversion!
Mr.Chappel Junior is supposed to have sent an SMS to a now extinct cricket writer called Rajan Bala about his dis-satisfaction about the team for the World Cup.
The e-mail method during Operation Ganguly has degenerated in to SMS method. I have an explanation for this. Mr.Rajan Bala, I suppose, does not have an email id. He is a dinosaur.
And what is Chappel’s grouse “should have included Suresh Raina.” What has Raina done to merit selection?
If I remember correctly, Raina has got around 17 as average in his last 10 international one-day matches.
“And Yuvaraj behaves like he is a star”.
But, Sir, he is a star. What do you expect? Yuvi should wash your underwear? Come on man, people like you should be institutionalized!
Then only the world is a safe!
The question is does he deliver or not? 9 out of 10 times he does. You say the selection of Yuvi was against your wish. But Yuvi was one of a very few who have redeemed themselves during our disastrous 2007 World Cup saga.
So it was an error in judgment, Mr.Chappel.
And the painful thing is you have made so many errors and the results are in front of us.

No matter what, you will be paid a kings ransom and will go back to Australia to write a book and make more money, with facts and fictions to make it tasty. But what about Indian Cricket? You give two hoots. Right, Sir?

And now the operation C.Y.A. (Cover Your Ass) is in full swing.
And who comes calling? Big brother Ian Chappel. Junior is in trouble and whom else can you expect than the senior. And it should be a ritual for Ian, because, Junior has fallen flat on his face so many times (remember, the infamous under arm bowling), in the past, Ian coming charging in to defend his kid brother is instinctive.
But Ian Chappel cannot directly involve himself in this C.Y.A. operation. It should be handled diplomatically. The first step is attack Sachin Tendulkar.
It is learnt that Tendulkar and Junior Chappel were not exactly on good terms. That explains!
Tendulkar is the most humble cricket genius in the history of World Cricket. He a great ambassador for international cricket. He is the most admired cricketer. He conducts himself and never ever you can find a fault with our beloved Sachin if you have a healthy mind! Only a sick and perverted mind can find fault with Sachin as a person and a cricketer. You, Mr.Chappel, succeeded in that endeavor also. Congratulations!
So as per Senior Chappel, Sachin Should retire.
Sachin is averaging around 40-50 in his last 10 innings, if I am not wrong.
If there are players who are making truckloads of runs in Indian domestic cricket and are deprived of international opportunity because of Sachin’s presence, there is justification for such an opinion. There are no such batsmen who are knocking on the door. And who you want to replace Sachin? Suresh Raina or Mohammed Kaif.
If Sachin bats left-handed (remember, he is ambidextrous), he makes more runs than the above two put together. And Mr. Ian Chappel you have the audacity to gost-talk on behalf of your brother about Sachin’s retirement.
Mark my word. After this cesspool created by your junior is cleaned and Indian Cricket is resurrected, Sachin will once again will play like Sachin. Then you will notice me for my prophetic words. You need not have to wait much.
BCCI should show the boot to Greggi and put somebody with the right credentials as coach.
A resounding no to Steve Waugh. He is meaner version of Greg. He thinks our players play for money and records. Now a days, you can say anything and get away with it, isn’t it?
My advice to Indian Cricket administration is do not change the team. The present team is okay. Change the captain. Because he was a party to all the foul play by Greg Chappel. And he is better at following than leading. The King should be somebody else and the commander in chief should be Dravid. Dravid is good man, but he does not know what he is doing, forgive him but strip his captaincy. You will see marvelous change in Indian cricket.
My solution. Make Sourabh Ganguly captain.
For One Day International:
Open with Sachin and either of Robin Uthappa or Sehwag.
Number 3, Yuvaraj Singh. No.4, Rahul Dravid. No.5 Sourabh Ganguly. Dhoni at No.6. Make a place for Dinesh Karthik somewhere there. Try Romesh Powar as a lone spinner for at least 5 matches without break. And the fast bowlers to follow.
I have no answers for Irfan Pathan. He, himself, has to find a way out. But my heart goes out to him. Poor bastard!
And at least for another 3 years, banish the thought of Sachin’s Retirement!
He is God! Please, please let us not drag him down!
Show the finger to these two brothers from down under!
I rest my case!

Monday, March 26, 2007

Mr.Gavaskar, Your Popular Team is Returning to India!

I am watching World Cup match between Australia Vs South Africa. Mathew Heyden just hit a six to bring up the fastest century of the World Cup Cricket in 66 balls. Ricky Ponting hit a six to become the batsman to hit the highest number of sixes in the World Cup of Cricket.

I am also remembering our own Sunil Gavaskar’s comments, “ Australians may be the number one team in the world but they not the most popular.”

Who Cares, Sunny?

Your most popular cricketers are coming home to India tail between their legs not being able to reach the Super Eights and beaten by the lowly Bangla Desh.

Even now is your choice the Losing Popular Team India to Winning Unpopular Australia?

Australians are ready to spill their blood and guts on the field to win the 2007 Cricket World Cup. If they think it is not enough, they are ready to spill the blood and guts of their opponents to win.

Do you want to know what is the root cause of the great Indian annihilation, Mr.Sunil Gavaskar?

Our Cricket stars are more worried about losing their cricket sex appeal (this phrase is patented!) and the consequent ad rakings than about winning and losing a cricket match.

In effect Sunny, they do not want to lose their popularity. And in chasing popularity, they have lost everything including their popularity.

Ever heard a popular quotation? “Happiness is like a butterfly. If you chase it, you may not catch it, but if you sit still it may descend upon you.”

Replace the happiness with popularity. Team India is chasing popularity not excellence in cricket.

Popularity should be the effect not the cause. The great Indian Cricket team, with tiger stripes painted on their faces, thinks popularity is the cause and hence this greatest of debacles. You want clearer definition of Cause and Effect.

You play excellent cricket (cause), and you become popular (effect). But Indian cricket stars think they are popular (cause) and hence they by, default, should play excellent cricket (effect). And people like you by making them demigods fuel this madness.

Why you make them demigods is to increase your salability is a known thing. But by creating this hype and hoopla about Indian Cricket, you are killing real cricket played by Australia. The batting of Heyden, Ponting, Clarke etc was real cricket Sir, and what the Indian Cricket Team played in the 2007 is a cheap imitation.

I define the quality of Australian Cricket today as Sublime. It is attained by hours and hours of practice and saint like discipline, sweat, pain, sacrifice and self-denial.

And you have the effrontery to make derogatory remarks to them? Mend your ways, Sir, before it is too late! You did it, to a certain extent, by apologizing to David Hooke's family. But that is not enough, a full scale apology is due.

You know what the opponents feel when our, once great, Sachin Tendulkar takes guard. HOPE!

But when Ricky Ponting takes guard. FEAR!

In India cricketers should not only be able to play cricket, but should be photogenic also, so that the Colas and Pepsis can promote their worse than human urine like soft drinks, using the beautiful faces of Sachin, Dravid etc. Remember, “Ooh, Aah, India....”

Ramesh Powar is a better one-day bowler than Harbhajan Singh in today’s form. He was not picked because he is not good looking. You were a better cricketer than me, so I need not have to tell you this. Observe closely how Ramesh Powars delivers moves in the air. You call it “drift” in cricketing language. Harbhajan of today does not have it. An off spinner without the “drift” is a toothless tiger.

All this is because of self serving servants of the Indian cricket who have established themselves in the garb of cricket experts, cricket commentators, cricket administrators, cricket advisors, cricket selectors.

Ricky Ponting ups his batting to the next niche when the opposition, the situation of the match is toughest.

And your so-called Popular Cricketers up their batting when the opposition is the hapless Bermuda and when there is nothing in the bowling.

My World Cup is not over, Mr.Gavaskar, yours is!

I will watch Australia every time they play, whatever the opposition, because cricket played by them now Is Cricket. Period. You go and find some excuse to blame them. But your game is over. Because your product which was on sale, has become stale and has zero demand! Good Luck!

P.S.: And I am a proud citizen of India! If I don’t mention it here you will think I am an Australian! that is why!

Please leave your comments and read more such artilces at

www.cricketrage.blogspot.com

Or write to me at

ganoganesh@gmail.com


Other Articles:
Shame on You Mr.Gavaskar
Cricket Sex

Saturday, March 24, 2007

How to Kill Cricket Betting!!!

Cricket betting took its first victim on 18th March 2007 in the form of Cricket coach of Pakistan team Bob Woolmer. It is a sad and very shameful thing to all genuine cricket lovers.

Cricket betting and the underworld connection of it is an open secret for such a long time.
In a taluk headquarters in Malnad, Karnataka lakhs of rupees change hands due to cricket betting during a match. Some borrow money for this occasion and behave as if their life depends on the outcome of a cricket match. If it is that, think of some metros like Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta. It is a cancer, which was left to grow by some vested interests in the cricket administration home and internationally.

B.C.C.I. or Board of Control for Cricket in India or (Board of Corrupt Cricket Administrators in India!) has become Bihar like a political wrestling pit. One evil in the form of Dalmiya goes and another bigger one called Pawar takes its place. Cricket and cricket players welfare is the last thing on their minds. Take the case of Ganguly-Chappel-Dalmiya email fiasco. Only an extra ordinary willed person like Sourabh Ganguly could extricate himself from such a mess. Ordinary mortals would have perished without a trace.

Coming to the death of a good man called Bob Woolmer.

He was in the lion’s den of cricket betting which is Pakistan, since 3 years. He also put forth some ideas to the Pakistan cricket board as how to control match fixing which were not implemented. He knew about the Pakistan players and administrators involvement in match fixing. He wanted to encash that knowledge by writing about it in a book rather than come out with facts and figures. He wanted to encash his knowledge of cricket match fixing and that was his undoing. And he was killed.

But why he was killed in the Windies?

If it were the facts about match fixing in Cricket, which he wanted to publish in his book, then the murderers, could have waited till his return to Pakistan and killed him there where it was easy to cover it up. It could have been a so-called terrorists bullet or a cricket fans rage, which could have attributed to his death. Why did the killers choose the most risky place of all like the West Indies to kill him? Why did they choose such alien surrounding and such a heavily guarded hotel to kill him. As per reports you need a separate pass to enter the lobby or the floor where the Pakistani cricketers and coach were staying.

Then again why?

My theory is the killing is not because of his book or autobiography. It was because of and solely because of the fixed cricket match between Pakistan and Ireland the day before that is on 17th of March 2007. Hard core punters had bet heavily on Pakistan winning against Ireland. If Pakistan were to win the match, the bookies would have incurred great loss. So the match was fixed like the one fixed in 1999 in England where Pakistan was beaten by Bangladesh.

Bob Woolmer knew that it is fixed and instead of taking the blame for this impossible defeat, he must have blurted out that he will make the match fixing public the next day. And that alone caused his death. This is my hunch. And I am positive this must be the case. Don’t be surprised if some players are involved in this murder.

International cricketers know about this match-fixing top to bottom. Nobody wants to spill the beans. Fear of the underworld.

I have an absolute foolproof remedy for this. This is the genius in me working overtime. You may think I am joking! But no. I am absolutely serious and when you hear me out you will agree. You will agree that I am a genius!

I will ask you certain questions, which you answer, and then I will give you The Remedy.

1) Among these two matches, where is the probability high of match fixing:
a) Australia versus South Africa or b) Pakistan and Netherlands

Obviously the answer is B.

The reason:

· The betting between two teams of equal strength will evenly spread because on the given day either team can win. So the bookies’ profit or loss will not be substantial. It evens out in the end. It is like eating cabbage when you have a choice of eating chicken.

· People also will bet less on such a match because they cannot make any predictions because there is not much to choose between these two strong teams.


· The people who are addicted to betting want a clear winner to bet on. So they are not interested in such evenly balanced teams playing.

· But a top team playing a non-entity throws up more options. The odds against Netherlands beating Pakistan will be, say, 5:1. The paradox is majority will bet on the stronger team to win. All the punters, betters will bet on Pakistan. All the punters, betters who boast that they thrive treading danger wants a sure winner. Even a 5:1 odd will not lure people away from betting on Pakistan. So if Pakistan wins, the bookies lose a huge chunk of their evil earnings. What they do, they fix the match. Because when the 5:1 odd also cannot make people bet on Netherlands, the bookies dirty mind goes on overdrive and the unthinkable to me and you, happens.


You want to know how to destroy the whole cricket betting syndicate, which is making this Cricket World Cup 2007 a joke? Say yes and here it is:


I have a foolproof remedy. It is so very simple you will write to me afterwards congratulating me on my genius.

Before I give you the remedy, give me your feedback and whether you want to know what my extra ordinary mind has conjured.

Write to me at
ganoganesh@gmail.com

Visit my blog, which has got more such diamonds!

http://www.cricketrage.blogspot.com

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Shame on you Mr.Gavaskar

MR. Sunil Manohar Gavaskar,

This is what you said to Ponting, "The reason the walk-off took place was simply because I was abused by the Australians. Someday, a more hot-headed guy might actually get down and whack the one who abuses him. If the Australians use this kind of language in a bar, would they get away with it?
There's the example of the late David Hookes."

Was that necessary, Sir?

Shame on you!

Whatever is your opinion on the Aussie team and its sledging etc., it is not fair to bring a dead man's name, who cannot defend himself, to justify your argument.
Do you know the vilest thing is, making deregatory remark on a dead person? The minimum courtesy you could have shown to a dead man, Whatever he was, whoever was, is to leave him alone.

My memories of Mr.Hookes is, he was a good commentator and a very hyperactive person. He was to cricket commentary like Steve Irvin was to wild life photography.
Let us remember him for that, Mr.Gavaskar.

How low you can go to sell your wares?

God and late David Hookes only know the exact circumstance of Mr.Hooks death. Who are we to pass judgement on that, Mr.Gavaskar?

Because, like a proverb in Kannada, where there is a town, there is a cesspool. The people from the gutter don't change. Look at their cricket and leave them alone. They are there because of their cricket and nothing else.

Have all the niceties in the world and don't know how to face Bret Lee or Murali will not keep you in the team for long.

Cricket is supposedly a Gentleman's game. But cricket never was and is not a gentleman's game while players like Steve Waughs,
Gavaskars, Javed Miandads, Andre Nels are around.

There were, are and will be gentlemen in cricket. Like Sachin Tendulkar, Gundappa Vishwanth, Kapil Dev, Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist, Wasim Akram, Sanath Jayasurya to name a few.

But generalising cricket as a gentleman's game is wrong.

What were you Mr.Gavaskar, in your playing days?

You were a great player of your time is a given thing.

Apart from that, what were you?

I remember you scoring 36 runs of 60 overs in a world cup game in 1979 to spite your captain, Venkataraghavan.

I remember you making the selectors drop Kapil Dev for the Chennai test without any reason, when Kapil was at his prime form, to satisfy your bloated ego.

I remember you almost dragging Chetan Chouhan from the field of play, just because some umpire gave you out wrongly. If every player who is given out wrongly follows your method we cannot have a full days match nowadays.

You were a great player, a good captain. But in your hey day you were playing the cricket politics on the gullible illiterates like Kapil Dev.

Ricky Ponting rightly said, "don't behave high and mighty"

Face it Mr.Gavaskar, you were never a
role model like Sachin is, Dravid is, Kapil was or G.R.Vishwanth was.

Then who are you to judge the Australian team in general and Late
David Hookes in particular?

Are you so desperate to be in the limelight and garner your share of the World Cup bootie?

In your days cricket was just a game. It is not now. Cricket now is life and death, for the players and the spectators.

And when the stakes are so high, you expect the Aussies to behave?
Be reasonable Mr.Gavaskar.

If they can get away with it,.Australian would kill to lift the Cricket World Cup.

Aggression is in their blood, because their country was built by convicts!

If Team India shows half of that attitude, aggression, passion and hunger, we will beat Australia hands down. You know why?

Man to man we have double the amount of talent they have.

So go for it India with fire in the belly and pride in your stride, because we are Indians.

Let the song "Suno gaur se duniya walo..." be on your lips and come back with the trophy.

Cricket is great leveller. Who knows, with such a pool of talent this time around we may surprise Aussies and other teams to lift the Cricket World Cup.

Kindly send your feed back to this article to
ganoganesh@gmail.com
And read for my vies on
www.cricketrage.blogspot.com

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Cricket Sex ! ( The Rise of the Third Sex! )

Anywhere else, there are two sexes, Male sex and Female sex, right?

But in India, there is the third sex called Cricket sex!

And that too as the world cup is on all are attracted to this than male to female or vice versa.

We Indians forget everything whenTeam India takes the field.
Our sorrows, pains, troubles, headaches, job, family is forgotten in that 100 overs.

Why?

Because cricket is the greatest of all games without doubt.
You may differ, but it is true whether you like it or not.
Take cricket.
There are so many possibilites. Nobody is sure what happens next? It is like a Alfred Hitchcock movie.
There are widely 3 possible results, 1)victory, 2)defeat or a 3)tie.

But think for a minute. Within those 3, there are infinite possibilities.

One delivery can be

1) Hit for a six
2) Four
3) Three
4) Two
5) One
5) No run
6) It can get the bowler a
6) Wicket bowled
7) Stumped
8) Hit wicket
9) Handling the ball
10) Caught behind the wicket
11) Caught by 10 other fielders
12) Runout of a) Striker or b) Non striker
13) Stumping miss
14) Catch dropped
15) Runout missed
16) Overthrow 1+4 runs
17) Ball hits the helmet 1+4 runs

You can go on writing about the various, glorious, so very absorbing possibilities, it is incomparable.

Thanks to the British at least for that one!

Compare this to any other sports which are competing with cricket for the spotlight. Tennis, Hockey, athletics, Badminton, Football are all are at the most two dimensional.

But cricket, oh, my darling cricket!

It is such a multi-faceted game it is a game played by 11 angels sent from heaven for us to live in heaven for at least 100 over duration.

And it inspires us like nothing else.

We are on a high for the next 2-3 days
When Sachin hits a century,
When Dhony hits that straight six while his bat rotates like a Vishnu Chakra
When Yuvi dives in the air and picks up a brilliant catch mid air
When Bajji dupes Ponting with the Doosra
When Kumble bowls that looping yorker to a clueless Aussie tailender

Nobody who knows cricket dares to compare cricket to any other sport.

Only Chess can throw up this kind of infinite possibilities but it is not a spectator sport.

Don't you ever dare to say, "Cricket is a game played by 11 idiots and watched by 11 million idiots"
Somebody has said it and I call him the most unlucky person who died without knowing, with that impression in mind.

I still get goosebumps when I remember,

Sachin first innings as a opener in a ODI in New Zealand
Sachin's batting magic on a stormy day in Sharjah vs Austarlia
Chandra's bowling at the Oval
Kapil's Devils impossible victory at Lord's in 1983
Sehwag's triple ton in, of all the places, Pakistan
Srishant's Kathakali dance in South Africa
Gavaskar's one and only hundred in a World Cup of 86 balls
Ravi Shatstri winning the Audi Automobile in Australia

So many memories to forget the present if you are down or enhance the present if you are up.

Tell me now, shall I rest my case.

With all this when I hear some so called cricket expert India saying " Indian did not win the 1983 World Cup, West Indies lost it ", I get up and show my finger to him.
Add to it, he is not a ex-cricketer but was a mediocre radio commentator, presently a out and out power broker in our corrupt, cricket administaration.

I will come up with more

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sharvanig@gmail.com
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