(Image courtesy: New Indian Express) A rapid-fire 96 hour one day tournament. A four-day affair that is seeing teams struggle to notch up 200 runs on the board. An out-of-form middle order that is trying to get back into the thick of action. Injured stars who are desperately trying not to miss the bus. Are we really ready for THEM?
L Suresh wonders…
As you wind up yet another lazy weekend over the next 24 hours and get set to face the inevitable – Monday morning – a handful of men from across the border will be doing the same. Only they’ll be packing their clothes, kissing their families goodbye, boarding a flight and travelling a few hundred miles for another day at the office, one that will keep them at their jobs for the next seven weeks, till April 18.
The great Indian journey
Ahmedabad or no Ahmedabad, Akhtar or no Akhtar, Woolmer’s boys will be entering the jaws of a series, with a desperate need to fight as if their life depended on it. Chances are, at the end of this biggie, the team may never be the same again. If the team finds itself in troubled waters, a new captain could steer the team to the Caribbean Islands for its Calypso caper in May. On the positive side, a let-it-rip fast bowler could finally emerge from the shadow of Shoaib Akhtar and claim a bagful of wickets, besides his rightful place as a pace spearhead. A few batsmen could finally do away with their crown of thorns – called inexperience – that they’re forced to wear as newcomers, and add a few feathers to their cap (like Michael Clarke), besides avoiding being mistaken for practice bowlers (like Yasir Hameed) by Indian players. A spinner coming in from the ice age could end the careers of the likes of Saqlain (who has probably by now played more matches for Surrey than for Pakistan). But most importantly, the team could continue with its winning ways against India, (so what if it were the one dayers) with four consecutive wins behind them.
The Challenger Charade
Back at the ranch, the Indian team is fresh from a series that challenges the intelligence of any cricket buff – the Challenger Series. A limited overs tournament as a run-up to a test series – how drole. After four days, 2040 runs, 33 worn-out players and a ravaged pitch, one would assume that this series could open the doors to those whose knuckles are completely bruised, with the amount of knocking they have done over the years. (The flip side to this story – are a couple of match-winning performances good enough for a player to get into the big league? But that’s for a different day and a different series.)
Venugopal Rao, Dinesh Mongia, D S Jadhav, NK Patel, RP Singh, S Dhawan, Dhoni, Robin Uthappa, Murali Kartik, Nehra…Just a few names that drew attention in the tournament alongside the likes of Dravid, Yuvraj and Kaif. But just how many of them are going to make it to the team (read playing eleven), with almost 10 slots already taken up? (The story’s the same for both tests and one dayers.) So that brings us to the key question – What’s the point?
That also brings us to the next tournament – the Duleep Trophy. The two matches played so far got over in three days instead of four, with over ten wickets falling per day and teams averaging around 183 per innings. Substandard pitch, substandard conditions, substandard teams…whatever be the case, the result is a tournament below par. SS Paul, JP Yadav, Ashish Nehra and Amit Mishra were easily the pick of the bowlers. But how many of them are actually going to be picked for the team?
Being outclassed by class
Erring on the side of caution by selecting the same team over and over again has led to the abuse of a well-known cricketing theory – class is permanent, form is temporary. India is probably the only nation in the world where a cricketer is ‘allowed match-practice’ to ‘get into form’. This typically happens at the expense of a match. Of course, a few thousand miles away and approximately four and a half hours ahead, Mathew Hayden can be dropped after four years of scintillating form, Bichel and Bevan can be given the cold shoulder after years of carrying the team’s responsibilities on theirs’, Stuart MacGill can be known as the poor man’s Warne despite redeeming himself through every given opportunity (160 wickets with 10 five-wicket hauls and two perfect tens in 33 tests) and Lehmann can be left looking to brother-in-law Craig White for help for a season in the English county. All of these lead to a corollary to the theory on class, now being made famous by the Aussies - winning is permanent, records are temporary.
The Aussie Avalanche - in three acts
We went into the ‘Last Frontier battle’ after three disastrous series (okay, they were all one dayers). Our batting clearly wasn’t clicking and yet we fooled ourselves into believing that in test matches, things would be different. The dirty facts that emerged from our team’s batting statistics after it was sent to the cleaners by the Aussies prove that it wasn’t to be. This was a show all of us would have loved to miss.
Act I: A gloomy opening:
Two of the lowest averages in the team were 3.75 and 2.00. They belonged to our openers, Messrs. Akash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir.
Act II: A drab middle
Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly and Sachin put on 80 runs between them each time they came out to bat, with averages of 27.83, 17.57, 19.66 and 17.50 respectively. The famed middle order couldn’t do one thing right – middle the ball. (And there was a completely exposed Yuvraj with 15.66, who neither belonged to the ranks of the middle order nor fitted into the opener’s slot.)
Act III: An exciting end
The top five batting averages belonged to Ajit Agarkar (59.00), Sehwag (42.71), Irfan Pathan (33.33), Parthiv Patel (of course, it’s a different matter that he kept as if he still had his batting gloves on) (31.20) and Kaif (30.60). (In the race for averages, we regret to announce that the middle order came towards the end.)
The way ahead
So that was the past. And as we look into the future, there are three issues that we need to address with a sense of urgency before Ganguly loses the 298th toss of his life. (Well, that’s one thing he certainly can’t be blamed for. And two, the number stated is fictitious – in case someone is seriously counting.)
1. We need overperformers
What do you think would be the claim to fame of the following – Andrew Symonds, Shoaib Malik and Scott Styris? Class? They belong to a unique breed of cricketers, classified as overperformers – those who are always in the background, undervalued and underestimated, but are always ready for battle. There would be stars in the team, but it would be men like these who, with consistent, effective performances, repeatedly pulled the chestnuts out of the fire. (One has to admit that after what seems like a million years, all of them have finally begun to behave like mortals, with injury and bad form dealing double blows.) Ours is a team full of stars. But where are our overperformers? Where are the men who would quietly switch on the light at the end of the tunnel when the stars failed to shine?
2. We don’t need wounded tigers
Newcomers waiting to be called. Old timers waiting to regain their silken touch. And then there are the big guns who can take the team places and are desperately staking a claim to their place in the team. Sachin, Irfan Pathan, Balaji, Nehra… Of course, for Bhajji, it is the mind that needs to be healed as he has to look at bowling from a completely different angle (preferably less than 15). So, are we really ready to take on a team – specially one that’s just on its way from Down Under, licking its wounds and seems to see red at the very sight of anything in blue?
3. We need to (successfully) face the unknown
We’ve always managed to vanquish known enemies. But then it’s the fear of the unknown that haunts us. Katich, Clarke, Andrew Hall, De Bruyn… We’ve created stars out of little-known players in every series we’ve played. And that’s why this Pakistani team could be dangerous. It’s a team full of little-known entities. We could be spun away by Shoaib Malik and Afridi before we say Danish Kaneria. We could be whacked right out of the game by Taufeeq Umar, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed or Asim Kamal while we lay traps for Inzy, Youhana and Younis Khan. Sami or Naved-ul-Hasan could rip through us while we breathe easy with the thought of Shoaib Akhtar cooling his heels back in Rawalpindi.
The last time around, playing Pakistan after playing Australia was like playing Sania Mirza after playing Serena Williams. This time around, we’re playing them at home – after a few days of domestic cricket, which at best could be described as being marginally better than net practice.
So before we discuss the possibilities of throwing a challenge at our opponents, we need to ask ourselves one very pertinent question.
Are WE ready for a challenge?
L Suresh wonders…
As you wind up yet another lazy weekend over the next 24 hours and get set to face the inevitable – Monday morning – a handful of men from across the border will be doing the same. Only they’ll be packing their clothes, kissing their families goodbye, boarding a flight and travelling a few hundred miles for another day at the office, one that will keep them at their jobs for the next seven weeks, till April 18.
The great Indian journey
Ahmedabad or no Ahmedabad, Akhtar or no Akhtar, Woolmer’s boys will be entering the jaws of a series, with a desperate need to fight as if their life depended on it. Chances are, at the end of this biggie, the team may never be the same again. If the team finds itself in troubled waters, a new captain could steer the team to the Caribbean Islands for its Calypso caper in May. On the positive side, a let-it-rip fast bowler could finally emerge from the shadow of Shoaib Akhtar and claim a bagful of wickets, besides his rightful place as a pace spearhead. A few batsmen could finally do away with their crown of thorns – called inexperience – that they’re forced to wear as newcomers, and add a few feathers to their cap (like Michael Clarke), besides avoiding being mistaken for practice bowlers (like Yasir Hameed) by Indian players. A spinner coming in from the ice age could end the careers of the likes of Saqlain (who has probably by now played more matches for Surrey than for Pakistan). But most importantly, the team could continue with its winning ways against India, (so what if it were the one dayers) with four consecutive wins behind them.
The Challenger Charade
Back at the ranch, the Indian team is fresh from a series that challenges the intelligence of any cricket buff – the Challenger Series. A limited overs tournament as a run-up to a test series – how drole. After four days, 2040 runs, 33 worn-out players and a ravaged pitch, one would assume that this series could open the doors to those whose knuckles are completely bruised, with the amount of knocking they have done over the years. (The flip side to this story – are a couple of match-winning performances good enough for a player to get into the big league? But that’s for a different day and a different series.)
Venugopal Rao, Dinesh Mongia, D S Jadhav, NK Patel, RP Singh, S Dhawan, Dhoni, Robin Uthappa, Murali Kartik, Nehra…Just a few names that drew attention in the tournament alongside the likes of Dravid, Yuvraj and Kaif. But just how many of them are going to make it to the team (read playing eleven), with almost 10 slots already taken up? (The story’s the same for both tests and one dayers.) So that brings us to the key question – What’s the point?
That also brings us to the next tournament – the Duleep Trophy. The two matches played so far got over in three days instead of four, with over ten wickets falling per day and teams averaging around 183 per innings. Substandard pitch, substandard conditions, substandard teams…whatever be the case, the result is a tournament below par. SS Paul, JP Yadav, Ashish Nehra and Amit Mishra were easily the pick of the bowlers. But how many of them are actually going to be picked for the team?
Being outclassed by class
Erring on the side of caution by selecting the same team over and over again has led to the abuse of a well-known cricketing theory – class is permanent, form is temporary. India is probably the only nation in the world where a cricketer is ‘allowed match-practice’ to ‘get into form’. This typically happens at the expense of a match. Of course, a few thousand miles away and approximately four and a half hours ahead, Mathew Hayden can be dropped after four years of scintillating form, Bichel and Bevan can be given the cold shoulder after years of carrying the team’s responsibilities on theirs’, Stuart MacGill can be known as the poor man’s Warne despite redeeming himself through every given opportunity (160 wickets with 10 five-wicket hauls and two perfect tens in 33 tests) and Lehmann can be left looking to brother-in-law Craig White for help for a season in the English county. All of these lead to a corollary to the theory on class, now being made famous by the Aussies - winning is permanent, records are temporary.
The Aussie Avalanche - in three acts
We went into the ‘Last Frontier battle’ after three disastrous series (okay, they were all one dayers). Our batting clearly wasn’t clicking and yet we fooled ourselves into believing that in test matches, things would be different. The dirty facts that emerged from our team’s batting statistics after it was sent to the cleaners by the Aussies prove that it wasn’t to be. This was a show all of us would have loved to miss.
Act I: A gloomy opening:
Two of the lowest averages in the team were 3.75 and 2.00. They belonged to our openers, Messrs. Akash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir.
Act II: A drab middle
Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly and Sachin put on 80 runs between them each time they came out to bat, with averages of 27.83, 17.57, 19.66 and 17.50 respectively. The famed middle order couldn’t do one thing right – middle the ball. (And there was a completely exposed Yuvraj with 15.66, who neither belonged to the ranks of the middle order nor fitted into the opener’s slot.)
Act III: An exciting end
The top five batting averages belonged to Ajit Agarkar (59.00), Sehwag (42.71), Irfan Pathan (33.33), Parthiv Patel (of course, it’s a different matter that he kept as if he still had his batting gloves on) (31.20) and Kaif (30.60). (In the race for averages, we regret to announce that the middle order came towards the end.)
The way ahead
So that was the past. And as we look into the future, there are three issues that we need to address with a sense of urgency before Ganguly loses the 298th toss of his life. (Well, that’s one thing he certainly can’t be blamed for. And two, the number stated is fictitious – in case someone is seriously counting.)
1. We need overperformers
What do you think would be the claim to fame of the following – Andrew Symonds, Shoaib Malik and Scott Styris? Class? They belong to a unique breed of cricketers, classified as overperformers – those who are always in the background, undervalued and underestimated, but are always ready for battle. There would be stars in the team, but it would be men like these who, with consistent, effective performances, repeatedly pulled the chestnuts out of the fire. (One has to admit that after what seems like a million years, all of them have finally begun to behave like mortals, with injury and bad form dealing double blows.) Ours is a team full of stars. But where are our overperformers? Where are the men who would quietly switch on the light at the end of the tunnel when the stars failed to shine?
2. We don’t need wounded tigers
Newcomers waiting to be called. Old timers waiting to regain their silken touch. And then there are the big guns who can take the team places and are desperately staking a claim to their place in the team. Sachin, Irfan Pathan, Balaji, Nehra… Of course, for Bhajji, it is the mind that needs to be healed as he has to look at bowling from a completely different angle (preferably less than 15). So, are we really ready to take on a team – specially one that’s just on its way from Down Under, licking its wounds and seems to see red at the very sight of anything in blue?
3. We need to (successfully) face the unknown
We’ve always managed to vanquish known enemies. But then it’s the fear of the unknown that haunts us. Katich, Clarke, Andrew Hall, De Bruyn… We’ve created stars out of little-known players in every series we’ve played. And that’s why this Pakistani team could be dangerous. It’s a team full of little-known entities. We could be spun away by Shoaib Malik and Afridi before we say Danish Kaneria. We could be whacked right out of the game by Taufeeq Umar, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed or Asim Kamal while we lay traps for Inzy, Youhana and Younis Khan. Sami or Naved-ul-Hasan could rip through us while we breathe easy with the thought of Shoaib Akhtar cooling his heels back in Rawalpindi.
The last time around, playing Pakistan after playing Australia was like playing Sania Mirza after playing Serena Williams. This time around, we’re playing them at home – after a few days of domestic cricket, which at best could be described as being marginally better than net practice.
So before we discuss the possibilities of throwing a challenge at our opponents, we need to ask ourselves one very pertinent question.
Are WE ready for a challenge?
(Appeared in the New Indian Express Sunday Supplement on 27 Feb, 2005)
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