The Factor of Five

I took birth late, very late. The India was a free nation and on the verge of the happiest time it gonna see in her lifetime. The century which redefines the human hunger of land and power was about to over.

As i do not want to discuss anything political here, leaving my soul-cry behind, lets talk about the game we all play, watch and above all, love.
If we talk in terms of cricket,i was born when it just came out from the grips of Kerry Packer. Few months before my birth, Australia was crowned as the World Champions, just a few hundred miles away from my birthplace. The white days of ODIs were almost over and Asia was emerging on the sky of this colonial game.

I am 105 years younger than Ashes and 12 than World Cup. I would have loved to born 15 years earlier to see India becoming World Champion but perhaps God decide to send me in a country which is a World Champion already. Anyhow my declaration of late birth wont do. This late hour is not as late as it seems to be and i m fortunate to watch many of the finest athletes doing the class acts.

The first memory in my mind is of World Cup 1992, i cannot remember anything exactly,

but yes i made out that it is the same game my dad and elder brother used to play every evening with me in which i use to get the underarm ball without any bounce.

My serious acquaintance with cricket could be considered in 1996 World Cup, i remember when a day my dad told everyone that Sri Lanka is the team to watch and we all know that he himself would not have thought what happened in that march evening.

In last 13 years if i have to list down the things or moments which changed the Geography of World Cricket, in my opinion they are 5 in number and i mean which changed the World Cricket.

As discussed by few of my friends we could not consider the personal achievements of individuals, like 400 by Brian Lara or achievements which affected a single team no matter up to how much extent, as Australia winning 16 tests in a row.

Here i mean the moments which changed the course the game and affected the Cricket in whole.

I seriously feel that after these events the game is not the same as it was.

I heard somewhere that we must tell bigger things later so its just to follow that i m giving it as increasing order of importance..

Its strictly my personal opinion but comments are welcome and i will be thankful if you have any..

5. 2005 Ashes-

It was something this whole World was waiting for. The game which for last 6 years became man vs robots. The Australians made this game as boring as some movie whose end we know. Right from that evening in England where Alan Donald can not complete those 22 yards in World Cup semi final to defeat Australia, it became routine for all the teams to try that same job and failing. Be it ODIs or Test matches. Australia became stuff of fiction, sometimes the things we hear about mythical characters, simply unbeatable. And in 2005, rest of the world saw towards England in hope and they did, something that would go into English folks... The Australians were defeated in the form which never lies and never hides the true champions. The super heavyweights were knocked down. The Team packed with Mcgrath and Warne and Ponting and Hayden and Gilchrist and many more was defeated.
That Ashes was something which put cricket again in World Sport and Test Matches again in World Cricket. After this Ashes only we start watching the rank list and point table. Everybody smelled, sooner or later this era of complete Australian domination will end for good where cricket is played between many teams not 1 against all. More importantly Test Cricket which was on its way to comeback finally showed us what entertainment it could deliver. Something other 2 formats can only dream of. No one remembers ODI performance for long unless its World Cup. Ashes 2005 reincarnated test cricket which we all can say is ready to give a good fight to his own new son, Twenty-20.

4. 17 June 1999

World Cup Semi Final

Australia Vs South Africa



Australia 213 all out. South Africa 12 overs 48 for no loss. After first boring semi final it was really going to be anticlimax and everyone wished final not to be so boring. Last match was saved by Steve Waugh where he produced one of the best innings of all times but this time who ???? Shane Warne..... the answer is Shane Warne who turned this draggy match into the stuff of legends.. The match was just like a bollywood fight scene between two heroes where one hits a jab followed by a jab of other... Match swung a million times before it all came on to one man, Lance Klusener, whose name still creates goosebumps to many cricket fans like me. 14 balls 31 runs, I bet many centuries and double can not match those 31 runs.. Played like God he was at last human, I do not know whose mistake that was but match ended up in a tie, the best ODI this game ever produced... Tie between two teams who that day played on same ground, one left the pitch to touch the divinity and other, the Doom. One captain went on to become immortal and other met with agonizingly most painful end a cricketer or a man could have. A team whose every player went on to become super star and a team who was cursed by someone that day. Donald retired after injury, Pollock played under boys and sat on bench every third game, Rhodes retired with injury and bad form, Klusener with one more blame of World Cup exit ended up playing in minor league which no one watched. Above all Captain and Coach met with something most excruciating in Cricket till now.. Captain Cronje died on a hill in a plane he took lift on 1 july 2002(i remember this) and Coach Woolemer died in his Room of James Peagasus Hotel in april 2007. Many still thinks both were murders. All of them were there on that ground and that match was WHERE IT ALL BEGINS !!!!

3.2006 South Africa chased 434 in 300 balls.



Someone told SA chased down 434 and i thought its good because i knew previous record was 420 something but one small thing i missed, it was an ODI... My GOD !!!! I felt scared as i heard some ghostly story. You name 434 and the image comes to brain is this match. 400 was task which no team ever achieved in 35 years but was done twice inside 6 hours. The effect of this match was so enormous that now no team put their head down no matter what the target be. I bet if India would have got the target of 360 in World Cup final after this match, they must have played for getting those 360 runs rather than just playing 300 balls. It completely revolutionized the chasing. Prior to this match a team batting first was considered in an advantage of putting pressure by setting good target but this match levelled that. Now the chasing only stops when it stops unlike previously when it stops just when batting first crosses 325 something. If not best, that was the biggest ODI ever played. Cricket was the game of uncertainties and this game raised the bar....

2.1996 Sri Lankan strategy of power play

Many will argue its not Sri Lanka but New Zealand captain Martin Crowe and its Mark Gratebatch not Sanath Jayasurya are the guys started this concept of power batting in the first 15 overs but they just innovated it as a tool in the armoury but it was lankans who built their whole gameplan aroud this... ODI could be devided into 2 parts... Before 96 and after 96.. 300 was something every team dream to touch but those were the Lankans who taught everyone how to surpass it repeatedly and successfully... No team could counter this Guerrilla warfare and World Cup was gone before any team could come out of this shock... Something which made Cricket interesting not only in last 10 overs but lot more than that and helped pinch hitters who were considered as non serious batsman to become heavyweight of their teams... Many came after like Gilchrist and Gibbs who flourished by walking on the path which was first followed by Sri Lanka to shook the World and to lift the most desired Trophy of Cricket in an evening in Lahore... The time when classic cricket was meeting the modern one...

1.2007 Indian winning first T20 World Cup.

India Vs Pakistan in a World Cup final, most awaited event in any cricket. It took 32 years since first international final to bring these two teams playing for stakes so high and pressure so intense. Very few rivalries in world could match this, be it cricket or any other sport. And what a match that was, last over 12 needed with 9 man down. Misbah ul haq pulled his team so far and last few minutes more. But this is something Sports are infamous for, turning a hero into villian in blink of the eye. He tried something, usually considered as intelligent if works, but that was India's day.. India won the first T20 world cup. Coming generations of players will thank Misbah for not winning this for Pakistan, no matter which country they belong to. It was this shot which resulted in India's victory.. It was after this shot Indian team had a victory rally in Mumbai after winning, where BCCI felt the might of the Indian Cricket... On the very day of Final, IPL born to change the World Cricket... From 10% of total money produced(this is what they get previously), players share rise and will keep on increasing for good... Before IPL, if National team drops any player like Dhoni for Parthiv Patel in 2003 WC, he becomes unemployed... Now there are plenty of teams to prevent deserving players going through something which asks them to change the profession and to forbid others to think it as suicidal profession... After IPL, many states and cities started numerous professional leagues, which will help parents considering cricket as a serious career option other than studies.. IPL could help cricket to go 200 years back in the Golden Age of cricket, only MCC and Hambledon are reincarnated and RR or MI... Players of World cricket could thank misbah for that.....
Beware EPL, Beware NFL..... IPL is on the fire !!!!!

The curse of a hurt man....

Hi, all… I do not appreciate personal blogs which are just related to the person writing but this time I cant help… I have to tell this… Please read it as far as you could….

Its midnight, I m somewhere between Thursday and Friday and undoubtedly one of the happiest guy. The reason is very very simple but quiet have a history of its own, SPS BULLS lost. Yes you heard me right, SPS BULLS lost and I m lot lot more happier than the guys who shot them down. Its an Oh I Say!!!! Moment for me, watching the game from far away, so far I do not have any idea of score and knew only when they lost but ah they lost… Nothing can get more gratifying then this….

Why do I need to be so happy, it had to happen. They were destined for the defeat and I knew it very early… earlier than this fixture was declared.. earlier than this tournament began, even earlier than last one…Once upon a time, when i was hurt, i was really hurt by many guys, i never showed any emotion, not even to myself in alone… But today i did… I laughed.. I screamed and if there exists a parallel universe, I want to console that boy who is alone, hurt, whose ego is bruised and who cannot do anything for it but to keep quiet… Time stood by me… You all see, time stood by my side and I m laughing with him over you assholes who always demanded without even thinking how much effort I ever put. Assholes who always wanted me to keep there words but never kept my smallest of feeling. Who were stars but never care how much my hands are burnt in this stardom. Don’t get me wrong, I never asked for credit but at least listen before discarding anyone hardwork just because it doesn’t fit to your moronism…

I don’t need credit, I had enough… But I can never forget the questions asked to me, especially by the boy whom I always took care about… He hurt me not the year ago but way before than that… when we were in 2nd year and he wounded me so much that I did what I never even thought of… it was shameful but I have no control over the fury I had within…. and we both knew it...

I don’t think anyone else than me would be interested in all the things I wrote but if you are still reading it means you could sense what I m talking about…

Exactly an year ago I had to face allegations, serious ones from the guys who do not know what a team mean, who have no idea how its made, and what it takes to keep a team alive. One of the mediator, Sandeep asked me, do i have any answer to these allegements, i then said i have 100 replies of their each question but i need not to answer a single of them, because i was million percent confident of their fate. i would have confirmed their doom that week itself but Sandeep f betrayed me and shamelessly unwrapped my mission of making a new team and its painfull.. more than you could ever imagine… They would have ate the dust there only but sandeep exposed it before time and I was ravaged…

You might be thinking we are here to study and why the hell should I take Cricket so seriously, but no, it was serious, more than even i could imagine and it was about how we live and how we think… but I m happy that serious cricket is over and my time with assholes too…

Now i m happily semi retire and play for warriors, a lovely team who listen me and even i never ever shown my face in practice and friendly matches but they want me in their team as far as i think. Cricket as a game is over for me and i play just to be with the guys who took me when other teams like Broomsticks refused to take me in their team. Anyways where the hell is Broomsticks ????

At last about SPS BULLS… i have many things to say but i don’t think anyone would be interested, you already had enough reading it till here and i cannot ask for more..

There dream of Major Tournament is over in 1st round and i advice to them is that none of you ever had strength of this major tournament… Try your luck in Super 6 in Fuera, I m not going to play that but my good wishes for that..

Those guys didn’t won a single game after, not a single game in the major tournament and stars of yesterdays are out in 2 consecutive tournaments in the 1st round….

1 year… 2 Tournament… 0 Wins…

Well Done Boys!!!! After all you did this without me…..

Century of What ????

This year ICC is celebrating its birth centenary(1909-2009). 100 years ago, it was formed as Imperial Cricket Conference and then only commonwealth countries were allowed. The first 3 members were England, Australia and South Africa. Now, the most interesting or say disturbing part is when you see their logo in TV, the tagline written is "Century of Cricket". How can they write this ???? If cricket is just 100 years old, which game WG Grace played or which sport side Joe Darling lead.
Cricket is(was) a game played in summer in northern parts of Europe, and was famous in England. Its history is too old and vast but it gained popularity in mid 18th century when a club named "Hambledon Cricket Club" came into existence and soon became popular in Britain. The exact date of foundation is not certain. It was the club which standardized the size of bat and various other rules which are considered as basics in cricket today. The year of 1787 was a fortunate one in cricket, "Marylebone Cricket Club" famously known as MCC was formed this year. No vocabulary is capable enough to describe the importance of MCC and its effect on Cricket. If someone could ever claim cricket to be his, it had to be MCC. Still today MCC is the body which had copyright of every rule in world cricket. Till 1997, official name of England Cricket team was, yes you guessed right, Marylebone Cricket Club.
The turning point in cricket history or say in history of any "team sport" was Introduction of Railways in 1830s. Previously the game was played between local teams comprising of players lived in small area of around 50 miles but Railways brought them closer and teams can tour easily. This developed the county cricket or say 1st class cricket.
In year 1864 arrived the most famous book of cricket published as "The Cricketer's Almanack" lated known as "The Wisden", its widely considered as The Bible of Cricket. When Ian Chappell signed for Kerry Packers World Series he said " I thought why to make such runs which Wisden is never going to count, anyhow i made those runs for money".
In 1877 we can consider official start of International cricket in its purest form "The Test". These were international matches just as 1st class and played for 5 days. First Test match was played between Australia and MCC(England). Australia won by 45 runs(centenary test in year 1977 played just after 100 years of 1st test produced same result, Australia won by 45 runs !!!!).
ICC formed in 1909, 122 years after MCC and 32 years after Test cricket itself. Now how could they claim to Cricket. In these 100 years one wonder what ICC did for development of Cricket. In whole world now there are 10 test nations comparing 3 in 1909. The only achievement ICC could claim is "World Cup' in ODIs that too when other sport like football successfully conducted more than a dozen. In test matches still there is no such format which could attract anyone else than a hardcore cricket lover. Instead of anything ICC should first control its most notorious member BCCI and should do something serious about game. Cricket dont have a proper ball for coloured matches and its ICC's duty to fund its research, which they never did. No one on the Earth could understand Duckworth-Lewis equation and its practicality and still they cant come up with some thing more legitimate.
This old man would be certainly laughing that how could ICC claim its birthday to be birthday of Cricket. Can anyone please explain this ????

Just Cricket....

Few things i have to say about Cricket which are on my mind for quiet some time...

Robin Uthappa- He is India's most underrated batsman. I dont have any such affection for him but his batting keeps amazing me whenever i see and can not believe how the hell can such a gifted player can not do justise with himself for such a long time. The way he just walk down the pitch and smashes a 90 mile delivery out of the ground is really very few can do. The way he almost perfectly hit that scoop shot in tense situation proves how endued he is. His selection of shots are awesome and many times strange but the overall execution of these shots are treat to watch. There are no doubt many youngester batsmen on Indian cricket horizon but no one is as gifted as uthappa.. Rohit Sharma although takes very less time to settle but he always had to wait for loose balls and can never hit the balls on his own wish.. Yusuf Pathan picks the balls early but he usually finds himself unable to keep doing that over a long period of time which is ok in T20 but could hamper his success in longer formats, also he rely upon few shots which he no doubt executes in brutal manner but could feel uneasy against top class attack. Names like Virat Kohli have to go miles even to become prospects of Indian T20 team let alone one day and Test would be out of even his wish list as for now. Its not to prove uthappa as better batsman than others, but i have not seen a better waste of talent for quiet a long time. He posses a rich armoury but dont know why he finds himself unable to turn his potential into performance.And as competition in India for a batsman is too draconian, he will find it really difficult to keep his head out of the rising water..

Australia- My favourite team, but it seems this time ACB is not at all intended to defend The Ashes as they kept their most reliable and potent Horse out of the damn Race. How the hell on the Earth a team can let a player like Andrew Symonds go when he is fit. One player can create a big difference and i think i need not to give examples of that. Its just like leaving your parachute just before diving but it seems they have bigger issues than Ashes itself.. Lets pray the boys under Baggy Green would be able to repeat or to even come closer to the performance shown by a team comprised of one of the best players of all times in 2007 Ashes..




World T20- Its going to start next week and i m hoping to see four teams in quarterfinals are.. India for sure, South Africa as they are very stable this time, Australia as you can never rule them out and they have all the resources to bite you everytime you took your eyes off and at last Sri Lanka as all other teams do not have enough content, but as they say, Cricket is a game of uncertainities and mind you its 20-20 affair.. Anything is possible and i mean it literally..



IPL- Its over and proves India is on its way of becoming a developed nation and can easily sustain a league bigger than this so wait for two more teams in 2011. Its the shortest league played anywhere in the world and only a month long, its better to call it tournament instead of league, i will rather suggest to let it run for whole 6-8 months with atleast 16 teams palying a 2 leg system with no final or semis at all,instead winner should bedecided on the basis of points, which is a bit difficult to imagine as one will think it will lack the spice but i m sure that will be original league and all the matches will be played with equal importance and matches should be on weekends without affecting Test Matches calender. In jet age, clubs can always manage their players from any part of the world if both wish and even if not then also we will have many players available for the league.. Other countries should also copy the format to develop their domestic systems and can help the sport to be truely Global

GREATEST TEST TEAM (1877-2009)

I, after numerous arguments with my foolish and idiot friends(Sandeep Ganesan on top of that list), now decided to duck the questions like, How dare I think this and that to be The Greatest player or better than their choices...
I many times answered but every time the argument got so intense that I just escaped to be part of countless wrestling matches...

So now I decided to put The Greatest XI on this blog to end the direct arguments for once and for all because here it can never get physical....

On a serious note, undoubtedly these are The Greatest Cricket Players of All time..
There are many others but, as Sports is a draconian path where one always had to leave way for the other, only 11 spots are available.....

As this team consists of players from 1877 to 2009 so please give me liberty to choose them from all across the history....


OPENERS....

JACK HOBBS---- The Best Opener Ever... Along with "Herbert Suttcliffe" he dominated the World Cricket for 2 decades(1910s and 1920s).. Still holds the World record of 197 first class centuries, he made 62000 runs in process...

VICTOR TRUMPER----The Grandest of All..He is considered as one of the two finest batsmen ever who walked on a cricket pitch(Bradman the other).. He as said was the batsman who can score even if the pitch is made on a swamp.. He was whole and soul of Australian batting for first 15 years of 20th century and died at age of 37..

3. DONALD BRADMAN----Only 1 sentence for him..... Cricket is a game of uncertainties, unless you have a Bradman...

4. W G GRACE---- Father of Cricket, Captain of England, Captain of MCC, Captain of Gentlemen(Cricket Club)...Played from 1865 to 1913, He 29 times made 1000 runs in the month of May. Greatest Athlete who played first class cricket till the age of 65 (debut at 17).. In a survey, 110 years ago, he was second most recognised face in Great Britain in whole 19 century(Prime Minister Gladstone being the first)..
Doctor by profession, he never gave up his tag of amatuer and never became a professional, but his salary could be imagined by this, in his times "Everton" was the biggest football club and salary of top 12 players of Everton was equal what his club used to pay WG !!!!
In 1880s his annual income through Cricket was 30,000 pounds. Stadium signboards those days usually displays, 6 pence if WG will play and 3 if he wont !!!!

5.GARFIELD SOBERS---- A man who can perform any(any means any) job on a cricket field.. He can bowl at 80 miles per hour with new ball, can bowl spin, can bat at any order and whatever else you cannot even imagine.. Look at an example of his greatness.. When he retired from Test cricket he held 3 main records(of course many others too).. Maximum runs,Maximum wickets and Maximum catches in Test cricket....

6.STEVE WAUGH (CAPTAIN)---- Hard,Uncompromising, Rare and Eternal like Diamond... He transformed a group of boys into the most lethal and Horrendous Team in the history.. Broke the 80 year standing record of Warwarik Armstrong and above all in the process, became a player with uncomparable will-power and infinte surrender potential... In modern cricket He The Man among Boys....

7.ADAM GILCHRIST(WK)---- Undoubtedly he is most fierce hitter of cricket ball who also took the gloves behind the wicket.. I would have loved to choose Viv Richards but he can not keep wickets or Allan Knott who do not have such dominant batting skills... Also I need a Hitter as keeper because such a batting line up needs a quick run getter so that captain can declare the innings early and no keeper can deliver this better than Adam Gilchrist....

8.SHANE WARNE---- Magician !!!! The Best Spinner in 130 years of Test Cricket.. His number of preys cannot (although they are 708) match his skills and perfection.. The bowler who if takes 3 wickets in an innings, Those 3 will obviously be top batsmen of the side..
A man who revolutionized the whole scene of the cricket in early 90s with his magic deliveries, even when he will be 70, can get a place in any test team..
If you think he is the lone spinner without partner so there is always Sir Gary Sobers to share the old ball with him...

9.HAROLD LARWOOD---- The Fastesssst... A man who in a single series created a impact on the World Cricket which could never be paralleled.. Larwood was the original and peerless executioner of unfamed "BODYLINE"... Douglas Jardine once said, You keep a coin on pitch and this man can pith the ball over that coins 6 times in an over... Unfortunate for us, speed measuring machines were not at his times but nearly all claims he was a lot faster than many 100 miles bowlers along with his pin point accuracy... Many times in english cricket, First Class County sides refused to play against Larwood on grassy tracks...
He holds the record of highest score by a nightwatchman(98 runs) for nearly 7 decades which Alex Tudor breaks in 1999 against New Zeland....
His career was short as he never got oppurtunity to play after bodyline series of 1932-33 but he truly deserved what he never got...

10.FREDRICK SPOFORTH---- Nickname as "The Demon".. He is the man responsible for what we today know as "The Ashes".. In 1882 he devastated England where he took first hat-trick of test cricket.. He did not let them make 10 runs with 7 wickets left which is considered as most lethal spell of all times... That Oval Test later laid foundation for Ashes...
He was the bowler who many times was, by english batsmen(including WG), given money for not to tour Britain so they dont have to face the troubles of his ferocious pace..
The first bowling superstar, The Demon, is really will be a fitting opening bowler for such a team...

11.SYDNEY BARNES---- Most Successfull bowler ever... Considered as "Bradman of Bowling".. He took 189 wickets in 22 matches with unbelievable average of 16 which is still a record(My all time favourite Mcgrath is second with 22)... His duel with Victor trumper was one of the finest duels in sporting history... He is believed to be The Finest bowler by all who saw him or played with or against him...

12th Man.. FRED TRUEMAN---- LEGEND!!!! He ruled the world cricket for 15 years, in exactly mid of 20th century, Fred Trueman was a true Fast Bowler in all respect.. The first bowler to take 300 wickets, he worked whole his childhood in mines and as said his game always showed how one can fight a new battle each day...