Sporting An Opinion

The Indian cricket board announced a ‘new look’ team for next month’s tour to Bangladesh and there were to very big names missing in the one-day team: Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. While it doesn’t seem like the end of the road for them, the signal is clear. Their days may be numbered unless they start performing more consistently. But what is the definition of perform for these two greats? Unlike a greenhorn for whom a 30 or a 40 could be seen as a good effort, such a score is barely enough for these two. They need to score big, score fast, score attractively (fans like to see them play well) and do all this every time they go out to bat.

While Virender Sehwag gets another lease of life (wonder why Rahul Dravid is supporting him so much), lady luck has not smiled as nicely on Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh. One cannot help but feel that this could well be it for Ajit Agarkar. He has not performed half as consistently as he should or he can and he simply refuses to learn his role with the bat. The tag all-rounder is unfit for him and he always gets selected as one. With Pathan also being dropped, who is India’s all-rounder?

The death knell could well have been sounded for Harbhajan Singh as well with the inclusion of Romesh Pawar who needs to perform well in Bangladesh to make the cut for England. For Harbhajan and Pathan, the road back looks tough but this will be the real test of their character and they could take a lesson or two from Zaheer Khan.

Meanwhile, England has a new coach: Peter Moore replaces Duncan Fletcher who resigned a couple of days ago. Fletcher’s match against the West Indies will be his and he, like Brian Lara, who will be playing in his last match, will be hoping for a winning finish. Michael Vaughan could well be another player we see for the last time in an ODI and while there is uncertainty about his future in the shorter game, he would also like to bid a winning goodbye.

Lara’s career (and not just in ODIs) ends tonight. And unless there is a coaxed return to the team by selectors, he will not be seen on a cricket ground on the international stage. In his 16 years, Lara has been the one West Indian cricketer who looked like he belonged on the big stage all along. He was one of the major West Indian crowd pullers and his loss will be a big blow to cricket in the Caribbean. For tonight, though, let’s just enjoy him on the field one last time.

Subhash Chandra’s googly has landed right on the money and how the BCCI and ICC play it, only time will tell. Whether or not they play it with a straight bat is up to them but gauntlet has been thrown. It is interesting that a similar experiment back in the 70s was by another media mogul Kerry Packer. So the underlying theme of TV rights is definitely one of the factors.

But more than that, what Chandra proposes does hold promise. Whether he can pull it off, time will tell. But for the BCCI, it could not have come at a worse time. With increasing discontent among players and officials, the BCCI is in its worst phase in a long time and maneuvering all this would be a challenge.

As if the existing problems were not enough, Indian cricket’s most non-controversial player Sachin Tendulkar has responded to the allegations by coach Greg Chappell and this will further make things difficult for the board. How will they address all the discontent for comments by Tendulkar cannot be taken lightly. He is not the sorts who speaks out too often and when he does, it needs to be taken seriously.

Coach Greg Chappell’s future is in definite doubt but where it heads with regards Indian cricket will be decided on April 6 when the board meets. And Subhash Chandra’s announcement will certainly add to the agenda for April 6!

Upon closer scrutiny, the ICL proposal is nothing revolutionary. It promises better administration of the game and some more glitz around the sport. How much the fans and sponsors buy into it would depend on how the BCCI responds. Will they join forces or will Chandra be forced to play revolutionary? On face value, playing along seems the best recourse, but the BCCI is not known for towing someone elses line… not even the ICC!

The ICC response is another matter for consideration and a breakaway Indian league stands to affect the ICC’s commercial standing as well. In all this, one hopes the interests of fans and players are not ignored. Tough times ahead and the action begins on April 6. And yes, the World Cup continues!

India’s exit from the tournament is reason enough that many Indian cricket fans would stop following the tournament altogether. I mean, how does it matter to the Indian fan who wins? Only the die-hard will see the key matches hoping for some good cricket. Right? One hopes not, actually. Cricket is so much a part of an Indian that the World Cup is his pilgrimage. And the rude end to this pilgrimage may not be handled too well by most.

In our conversations with some fans, we have found that cricket is today only as important as any other soap opera at prime time. The earlier fights for the remote and control over the TV has reduced considerably. Only perhaps an England v West Indies or Australia v New Zealand match will arouse some good interest. And who can blame them? The time for watching a match live is just too wrong. Most people have to go to work and following it beyond the first innings (that ends at about 10.30 pm) is criminal.

Honestly, this could be one reason that the Caribbean may not host another World Cup for a very long time. It’s not well suited to the large TV audiences around the world. Matches in Australia are no problem to follow for the subcontinent or even England. Ditto for games in South Africa and the games in England may be a bit of a problem for Aussie fans, but they are pretty used to it now thanks to the Ashes!

What has also been disappointing is the lack of crowds at the grounds. A similar problem was noticed at the recent ICC Champions Trophy. With limited venues and too many matches, the cost of tickets can be prohibitive. But the ICC and the organisers did not reduce the cost or even make it free. As a result, the locals have all but abandoned the matches. Brian Lara has already gone on record lamenting the lack of support and with India and Pakistan bowing out, even those who had planned trips to the Caribbean have reconsidered and some, canceled.

While the format would come under scrutiny, it cannot be an excuse for two exits. Upsets are part of the game but one upset cannot decide the fate of a team, right? It happens in tennis with an upset in the early rounds but there are more top players to fill the void in a pool of 128 players in a Grand Slam. If this is the Grand Slam of cricket, two of the top seeds are out and that leaves a small field of six top teams to pull in the crowds. Rather inadequate. With Bangladesh and Ireland, it has also meant that 12 matches have suddenly become one-sided. That translates to 12 days of lost revenue on TV, crowds in the stands and lack of interest.

Will this issue be addressed? Is there an issue to start with? Should the top eight teams be ensured entry into the later stages? The obvious answer is yes, at least until the lesser teams are good enough to put up a fight. There would be many who would not like or agree with this solution, but in a world that comprises eight big names, the securities needed to keep the business going are tremendous. Tough decisions need to be taken and the ICC will need to make them. They don’t have the best track record in this regard, but for once, they will need to do it.

It’s been over a day since India lost to Sri Lanka and although die-hard fans will continue to harbor hopes of India going through if Bermuda can beat Bangladesh, the real question is whether India wants to go through in such a manner? What will the repercussions of such a loss be in Bangladesh and the cricketing world?

The team is still in the Caribbean and one suspects they are ready with bags packed. One also suspects they are praying very hard! But it will be a hollow entry and all it would do is extend the lifeline to many of the players in the team. If Bangladesh does win (which it really should), there are some changes to be expected. Necessary or not, these changes are a must to appease the public in India.

Rahul Dravid may well be replaced by Sachin Tendulkar as captain and coach Greg Chappell may not see his contract being renewed. Also expect a campaign against a foreign coach rearing its head again after this debacle! Indian or foreign, one hopes it’s a coach who has a strong heart and can get his way with the players!

The post-mortems in the Indian and world media about India’s performance have begun and the cry for someone’s head will only get louder. Let’s hope there are no silly retirements in light of this poor showing. Tendulkar, Dravid, and Ganguly still have some years left in them. Even if they can’t be around for the next tournament, they would do well to stick around and ensure there is a good core in place after they have gone.

There is a surge of emotions across India has already shown what this means to the fans and they are baying for blood! Administrators and selectors had chosen the best squad and there is no mistaking that. It all went wrong on the ground. It definitely needs asking how India and Pakistan lost to two minnows on the same day.

Questions will also be raised about the preparation and fingers pointed at the endorsements the players undertook just before the tournament. None of this will be seen with practical eyes and for a few days, this will continue to boil. There is no formula for success in the days ahead and changes are inevitable. Let’s just hope there is some method behind the madness that is definitely going to follow.

There will be many reasons Indian fans will come up with after India’s exit about how it’s a good thing after all. They can now enjoy the other key matches like today’s Australia versus South Africa and the second round of matches that will feature Ireland and Bangladesh. An upset each would really spice things up.

After the first round of matches, Sri Lanka has risen up the favourites list and now sits alongside South Africa and Australia with New Zealand a distant fourth. England and West Indies should be the other two teams in the Super Eight but they really don’t have much chance on current form.

Today’s match (AUS v SA), though, promises to be a needle match since these two teams won’t play each other until the knock out stage of the semi-final or the big final. And there are more than just two points at stake. There’s confidence, momentum and the upper hand to be gained.

Sri Lanka’s win was impressive for more reasons than one. They had already qualified and although Bangladesh’s win over India upset their calculations briefly, they came back and won against India to ensure nothing went wrong for them. India, for their part, had a quick Caribbean visit and will perhaps now start preparing for their tour of England in June or so.

What will happen to Greg Chappell? Is this the end of the road for Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly? Will we see them again in four years? Is there a successor for Dravid? Two bad losses in seven days have thrown the team into turmoil.

No such problems for some of the other teams, though. Although the tournament was designed to ensure that the big eight got through with some good practice games, it has seen two of the biggest teams in India and Pakistan exit. The television viewership (a large chunk of which is from the subcontinent) will certainly take a beating and this won’t be good news for sponsors or the tournament organisers.

But India’s performance has gone to prove that they were mentally under-prepared and the thumping win over the West Indies in the warm-up match only provided false hope. In the end, it is the West Indies that’s going through with a 100 per cent record and India is on their way home. There really is no point pinning too much hope on Bermuda beating Bangladesh and it’s best to accept that India is coming home.

If you really love cricket, it’s best if you told yourself that the cricket would still be good. Only India won’t be a part.

Friday the 23rd could either be known as an outstanding day in India’s World Cup campaign or it could be thought of as a day as inauspicious as Friday the 13th! Unfortunately, it does have the same ring and sound to it! Without sounding defeatist, one has to acknowledge that the task facing India is an uphill one with Sri Lanka looking in World Cup-winning form.

India’s batting has come good in the previous match but that was a Bermuda bowling attach without the fire that Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga and Fervez Maharoof will come with. And then there’s the small matter of an in-form Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumara Sangakkara.

India has a few things to sort out before the match. They have already tried two opening partnerships with neither coming good. For a big match like this, though, the decision will not be easy. There will be the temptation of pushing up Tendulkar to open with Ganguly but his batting down the order against Bermuda was inspirational to say the least. Opening with Uthappa will offer some more leniency down the order, but India will need a good start whether they bat first or second.

Which brings us to another major problem: bat first or second? The easiest option will be to lose the toss and not have to make the decision. But should India win the toss, batting second would give India a better chance on two fronts. One, they can use the early morning pitch and second, have an exact idea of what to do when they bat.

It is important for India, though, to go into the match with a positive frame of mind keeping in mind recent successes against the Sri Lankans. Unfortunately, these were achieved against a team without Murali or Vaas. And Jayawardene was also out of form then. All these things have changed and India has a much tougher task ahead. Are they up to it?

The big three of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly need to score and India has to ensure early wickets whether they bowl first or second. Sounds simple and all the theories and plans will now need to be put to test. Today could well be the day when India is either sent packing back home or kickstarts their campaign. Let’s not even worry about the Bermuda versus Bangladesh match.

Today, March 21, 2007 is going to be a big day for India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007. Although India does not play today, a lot would depend on how things go between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who face off in Trinidad & Tobago today. There really are only three scenarios:

Sri Lanka beats Bangladesh
This seems the most obvious outcome and will then make the group very interesting with the second round places not being decided until March 25 when Bangladesh plays Bermuda. But again, the margin of victory would be of interest to India. For India’s sake, SL needs to beat BAN by a very big margin; one big enough to make even a huge win for BAN over BER look pointless. But that’s for India’s sake, really! For their own sake, they just need to win! And then India would need to beat SL comfortably to see Bangladesh fall further behind on the net run-rate.

Bangladesh beats Sri Lanka
Now this would truly open up some possibilities. For one, it would put Bangladesh in the best position to qualify and even a close win over Bermuda later in the week would see them through and with two points! But this scenario would turn the India v Sri Lanka match into a knock out game with the loser certainly going home.

Washout/Tie
If today’s match is washed out or tied, it doesn’t help India much since it allows both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to go ahead of India on points. For India, this may help: if the Bermuda v Bangladesh match ends with a point being shared and Sri Lanka has beaten Bangladesh, India may just have a better chance of going through. Of course, India needs to beat Sri Lanka for any of this to be of consequence, but assuming that happens, then the rains on Sunday could well make Group B clearer!

Whatever the outcome, the task for India is clear: beat Sri Lanka by a hefty margin. What happens in the other matches won’t really affect them in that case. Ah, but if Bangladesh can beat Sri Lanka, then the fruits of a successful task on Friday are more assured!

The final leg of the first round of matches promises much excitement and potential heartbreak for cricket fans. While some groups have already been decided, there are some key matches that would decide how the teams shape up in the next round.

Australia and South Africa are certain to progress from Group A with SA expected to confirm this by beating Scotland on Tuesday. And then there’s the biggest match of the first round between the two top-ranked ODI teams in the world. Yes, there will be two points up for grabs that the teams will take with them, but more than that is the psychological advantage because at the moment, these two teams look the most probable opponents in the final.

New Zealand versus Kenya seems like a straightforward match, but a Kenyan win could throw group C wide open. And then, England’s loss to NZ may not seem as big a deal! But NZ should win that one and barring and English loss to Kenya, NZ and England should be safely through to the Super Eight by March 24!

Group D is all done and dusted with hosts West Indies and Ireland going through. But the match between these two top teams of Group D will decide who starts the Super Eight with two points already in the bank. West Indies are favourites, but Ireland is a team on a high. Man to man, they may not match the Windies, but can just as easily cause another upset.

One group that is still unsettled is Group B with Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh all having a chance of going through. In the most expected scenario, it will come down to the net run-rate and Bangladesh will then have the advantage of knowing exactly what they have to do to go through when they play Bermuda on March 25. That, interestingly, is the last of the group-stage matches and could well decide the fate of India and Sri Lanka!

Right from the start, this has been touted as one of the most “open” World Cups and how true it’s proving to be. Australia and South Africa apart, none of the big teams have shown the expected form and ruthlessness when playing the lesser teams. And the minnows have shown that they are not here to just make up the numbers. Their flair, charisma and sheer commitment has been a pleasure to watch. The next four days promises some outstanding cricket and even the lesser games will have a part to play in how the tournament shapes up.

Links: Latest News | World Cup Schedule | Key Moments

 
The 2007 Cricket World Cup has taken a rather sad and somewhat bizarre turn with off-field events. While some are related to Pakistan’s loss to Ireland, others have more to do with indiscipline. All the same, the focus has shifted away from the cricket and all talk (almost all!) is currently hovering around Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer’s mysterious death, Inzamam ul-Haq’s resignation and the drunkenness of Andrew Flintoff.
 
Woolmer was obviously under tremendous pressure following Pakistan’s exit from the World Cup. That he was diabetic and suffered from other health problems was not known to the rest of the world. Woolmer’s death will be a huge loss to the cricketing world and more so to Pakistan. He was known as a visionary coach and his work the South African team helped them to become one of cricket’s superpowers. Woolmer had slightly strained relations with some players in the Pakistan team, especially with Shoaib Akhtar, but everyone is mourning his loss.
 
For the Pakistan team, things could not have become any worse. With no real heir-apparent in sight to succeed Inzamam ul-Haq, the PCB would have preferred he continue as captain for a little longer at least. But now, they need to make a quick decision. The obvious choices are Mohammed Yousuf and Younis Khan.
 
England may have lost their first match to New Zealand but that apparently wasn’t any reason to stop partying or drinking. Andrew Flintoff, Jon Lewis, James Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Ian Bell and Paul Nixon were seen partying away into the wee hours of the morning following the team’s loss to New Zealand and as a result, Flintoff was dropped from the match against Canada and also stripped of his vice-captaincy.
 
This is not the first time that Freddie has been caught “with his pants down” (metaphorically speaking, of course!) and he was warned at least four times in Australia to cut down on his partying. Obviously he did not heed. As for the others, they were apparently coaxed into going by Freddie and were allowed to play against Canada. This incident also means that Flintoff may never become the first-choice captain for England. Over the last year or so, this was a job, which was his for the taking, but a captain cannot be as indisciplined as this, according to coach Duncan Fletcher.
 
It really cannot get any more bizarre, unless of course, India now loses to Bermuda and Shoaib Akhtar is flown in as stand-in captain for the last Pakistan match. The first one is still a possibility, mind you!

 
For all of us who wrote off the eight minnow teams, Saturday was a huge slap. Not only did Ireland and Bangladesh beat the big boys India and Pakistan, they have also vindicated the ICCs belief that the smaller teams need to play the bigger ones more for such results. Perhaps Indian and Pakistani fans may feel hard done but the two teams that beat them did play very well.
 
Bangladesh has promised a lot for a very long time and this could just be their year. Back in 1983, India was considered no better than Bangladesh is today when they went on to lift the Cup. Perhaps 2007’s Bangladesh is 1983’s India! And a win over Sri Lanka in their next match could well upset the balance of the entire group and further emphasise the progress they have made.
 
Ireland would have to be the biggest surprise of the tournament so far. Pakistan was expected to walk all over them but their bowling left the Pakistan batting in tatters. That Pakistan had been suffering from infighting didn’t help their cause either!
 
Bob Woolmer has apologized for Pakistan’s debacle but chose to blame the batting more than the Irish bowling. Inzamam has gone so far as to call this the worst day of his cricketing career. Perhaps it is a sentiment that Rahul Dravid would agree with as well. He was gracious in defeat, saying, “Credit to them. They came out and played some shots and their opener got them off to a very good start so that set them up well for the game,” but the task ahead is much tougher and now there is competition from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to make it to the second round.
 
Saturday would perhaps be known as the day of the minnow with two major upsets. It would also be interesting to note how the interest levels in the subcontinent are affected now that there cannot be an India-Pakistan match in the World Cup. The two teams had faced off each time since 1992 and this year will break the rivalry! They have only themselves to blame, really!