England lost to Bangladesh today. Ireland few days ago.. Looks like England are as comfortable against the minnows as Salman is when he sees Vivek Oberoi. Defiant etc but in the end he is the laughing stock. Minnow's performance is better than Vivek's career though. Couple it with the tie against India and a close win against SAf, England seems to have a penchant for cliffhangers. They are like movie climax where the hero and villain both are at the edge of the cliff and you are not sure who will end up and the best man wins. Usually the villain loses. or both die.
But clearly England have been the best team in this world cup if you wanted to see how close the matches can get. They were good against good teams and poor against minnows. Eye for an eye. Clearly. Losing Kevin Peter Pieterson (thats his real name. Named by a genius I presume) and the teenage girl who throws tantrums, Stuart broad was a big blow. It was the blondie who won them the match against the Proteas. Probably the tailenders did not want him to throw a hissy fit.
Should minnows be allowed to play in world cups? Clearly ICC, when I say ICC I mean BCCI, does not think so. Minnows mean less money and Sharad Pawar is not interested in something that means less money. I'm not sure if people really understood what he said or just assumed about it. Come to think of it minnows do not get much exposure. World cup is their only main tournament with test playing nations. And this is the only chance they get to beat England. They need to be included in all major tri series and tournaments.
I started watching world cup from 1992. One main piece of memory is of waking up early to watch and listening to my dad curse the Indian team. In 1996, "he who is treated like a god by millions" showed. For him, it may have been just another day at the office, but for everyone else it was awesome. He continued his form in '99, '03, '07 (one match only though). It has been frustrating to see my team throw it away all these years.
There have been some good memories too. All the wins against Pakistan, Prasad teaching Sohail a lesson, Ganguly and Dravid tearing Lankans apart, Inzy's knock against NZ in '92 ( I did not know how crucial that know was till some years later. Liked the way he carted the bowlers), The greatest ODI knock I have seen (It was by him. 98 vs Pak in '03), Nehra's six (Sometimes I wonder if he would fall apart any moment when he runs in to bowl. Reminds me of an old KSRTC bus).
Although I have stopped following cricket extensively (I follow only tests as that where my god plays.), its the world cup and it is a big deal. I usually dont predict or play the selector games because my guess never comes true. But on the other hand, since it doesnt come true, I'm going to say Australia will win the cup. And if they do not. expect Ricky Ponting's guard to break some more TV's and stadium equipment.
India can play well at times. But their bowling has much to be desired. Zak is the only trustworthy bowler they have. Bhajji is no longer the wicket taker he was. Munaf and Nehra can never be trusted. Sreesanth is a maniac who can go either way. I am not going to comment on Chawla. Since its our home turf, we can expect us to truimph as well. As they say, it ain't over till Yuvraj sings.
There are few things in cricket coverage will never change though. Ravi Shastri cannot say a sentence without his old manytimes reused bag of cliches, Rameez Raja and Arun Lal will never speak English properly, Sidhuisms dont stop, Kamran Akmal will not hold on to catches for long, Sreesanth cannot finisha a spell without being "himself".. Speaking of Akmal, the number of chances dropped by Akmal can be acknowledged as the one of the largest numbers in the known universe. Inifinity comes in third in the list by the way. In number two, we have the number of things that can be done by Ravichandran to a heroine's navel. and #1 is the clear winner. It being the number of hate comments/mails you get when you criticize him(or use great and any other batsman's name in same sentence) in Cricinfo columns.
Also, in other news, Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and Tsunami today. As I read somewhere, father nature came home drunk and whipped a belt at his kids. But the number of casualities was pretty low. Its amazing to see what good infrastructure can do. Indian news will never cover this topic though.
But clearly England have been the best team in this world cup if you wanted to see how close the matches can get. They were good against good teams and poor against minnows. Eye for an eye. Clearly. Losing Kevin Peter Pieterson (thats his real name. Named by a genius I presume) and the teenage girl who throws tantrums, Stuart broad was a big blow. It was the blondie who won them the match against the Proteas. Probably the tailenders did not want him to throw a hissy fit.
Should minnows be allowed to play in world cups? Clearly ICC, when I say ICC I mean BCCI, does not think so. Minnows mean less money and Sharad Pawar is not interested in something that means less money. I'm not sure if people really understood what he said or just assumed about it. Come to think of it minnows do not get much exposure. World cup is their only main tournament with test playing nations. And this is the only chance they get to beat England. They need to be included in all major tri series and tournaments.
I started watching world cup from 1992. One main piece of memory is of waking up early to watch and listening to my dad curse the Indian team. In 1996, "he who is treated like a god by millions" showed. For him, it may have been just another day at the office, but for everyone else it was awesome. He continued his form in '99, '03, '07 (one match only though). It has been frustrating to see my team throw it away all these years.
There have been some good memories too. All the wins against Pakistan, Prasad teaching Sohail a lesson, Ganguly and Dravid tearing Lankans apart, Inzy's knock against NZ in '92 ( I did not know how crucial that know was till some years later. Liked the way he carted the bowlers), The greatest ODI knock I have seen (It was by him. 98 vs Pak in '03), Nehra's six (Sometimes I wonder if he would fall apart any moment when he runs in to bowl. Reminds me of an old KSRTC bus).
Although I have stopped following cricket extensively (I follow only tests as that where my god plays.), its the world cup and it is a big deal. I usually dont predict or play the selector games because my guess never comes true. But on the other hand, since it doesnt come true, I'm going to say Australia will win the cup. And if they do not. expect Ricky Ponting's guard to break some more TV's and stadium equipment.
India can play well at times. But their bowling has much to be desired. Zak is the only trustworthy bowler they have. Bhajji is no longer the wicket taker he was. Munaf and Nehra can never be trusted. Sreesanth is a maniac who can go either way. I am not going to comment on Chawla. Since its our home turf, we can expect us to truimph as well. As they say, it ain't over till Yuvraj sings.
There are few things in cricket coverage will never change though. Ravi Shastri cannot say a sentence without his old manytimes reused bag of cliches, Rameez Raja and Arun Lal will never speak English properly, Sidhuisms dont stop, Kamran Akmal will not hold on to catches for long, Sreesanth cannot finisha a spell without being "himself".. Speaking of Akmal, the number of chances dropped by Akmal can be acknowledged as the one of the largest numbers in the known universe. Inifinity comes in third in the list by the way. In number two, we have the number of things that can be done by Ravichandran to a heroine's navel. and #1 is the clear winner. It being the number of hate comments/mails you get when you criticize him(or use great and any other batsman's name in same sentence) in Cricinfo columns.
Also, in other news, Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and Tsunami today. As I read somewhere, father nature came home drunk and whipped a belt at his kids. But the number of casualities was pretty low. Its amazing to see what good infrastructure can do. Indian news will never cover this topic though.
{ I started watching world cup from 1992. One main piece of memory is of waking up early to watch and listening to my dad curse the Indian team. }
ReplyDeletememories are the same..i guess those are majorly responsible for our keen interest on the game ,still remember the game where dad cursed manjrekar for that misfield..perhaps he would not have got that from chairman cheif selector.