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.

As you glance down the top run scorers list for the ongoing World Cup, you can’t help but notice one anomaly: an Englishman! The only player from a team not in the semi-final, Kevin Pietersen is typical of everything not English in this World Cup. He is a fighter, scored consistently and is ready to take the fight to the opposition.

There is another anomaly: a West Indian. An even rarer sight. But Ramnaresh Sarwan, despite his failure in the last match against England, is marginally ahead of such players as Michael Clarke, Stephen Fleming, Adam Gilchrist and even Kumara Sangakkara.

These two players represent teams that promised much over the course of the last one-year and when the time to deliver came, buckled. They did not have enough support from players around them and that was the only consistent thing about their teams!

Compare this with the other players in the top ranks and you will notice that there are some rather high-ranking players from the teams in the semi-final. Of course that’s the reason they made it this far anyway.

Among the semi-finalists, there are some head to head comparisons that could prove interesting. For the two Australians in the top ten, there are two South Africans. Things get more interesting when you note that both captains are up there with Ponting at number 2 ahead of Jacques Kallis only on strike rate while Graeme Smith is at number six only 39 runs behind the two. The one man who has run away from everyone else of course is Matthew Hayden. His aggregate of 580 is only 113 runs behind Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 693 set in South Africa. The rate at which he is scoring runs that could fall in the semi-final itself!

Of the other two semi-finalists, Scott Styris finds himself as the lone Kiwi in the top ten while Sri Lanka has two representatives: captain Mahela Jayawardena and the stalwart Sanath Jayasuriya. Eleven runs separate the two teammates while Styris is ahead by over 50 runs.

The reason we are looking into this is to try to understand which teams have a better chance of winning their semi-finals. Sri Lanka looks favourites for more reasons than having two batters in the top ten. They have players like Murali and Vaas who have been there before and won the cup once. The pressure and expectations won’t be completely new to them. New Zealand has Craig McMillan and Stephen Fleming to call on their experiences from the 1999 semi-final loss to Pakistan and they would do well to remember their lessons well.

The South Africa versus Australia semi-final would be keenly contested and there are some old scores to settle there. The 1999 semi-final for one! Australia won’t let South Africa forget that day and there are some survivors from that match too. However strong they may be, Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs and Mark Boucher won’t forget that too soon.

Four well matched teams with players in form. The Englishman only has Brian Lara’s run-out to hang on to for now!

West Indian captain and all-time great Brian Lara will be playing his last one-day international today against Bangladesh. In an illustrious career spanning 16 years, Lara has been the standout player for the West Indies through their worst phase. But at 37, he isn’t exactly young and the West Indies doesn’t seem to have made too much progress since he entered the team as a youngster.

The bowling is just as undisciplined and the batting uncertain. Chris Gayle, who was hoping for a better outing at home, let himself and the team down regularly and as a result, it was Brian Lara who had to come out and try to save the team throughout the tournament. But sooner or later, he too, was bound to fail. And once that happened, the West Indies challenge was nothing more than a mirage.

Brian Lara can be accused, if anything, of perhaps not taking on as much responsibility as he should have by coming up higher in the batting order and asking the rest of the batsmen to rally round him. But there was always the risk that he would get out early and expose the rest of the batting. It wasn’t an easy decision and he could have been accused either ways. In the end, one has to say he did what he thought was best… it just didn’t work.

One thing that Lara cannot be accused of, however, is trying to bring quality youngsters into the side. While he may not be able to take credit for all youngsters who have made it to the team, he certainly deserves credit for showing confidence in them and trying to make world-class players out of them. Beyond a point, though, even he can’t do much. The real shortcoming of West Indies cricket has been a lack of confidence and no matter how many youngsters they blood, they don’t think or look like they could win.

Lara himself, unfortunately, hasn’t won as much as he deserves. Individual records aside, he hasn’t tasted much success that lesser players in better teams have. With his last appearance coming up today, he would like to finish with a win.

Thankfully, we would be able to see Lara bat in Tests for a while longer, but this will be his final ODI salvo. A great player would be missed and unfortunately, he leaves no legacy to speak of either. G’bye Brian!

No? We thought as much! There weren’t many on show either. And it was their home tournament; one they expected to do well in. But unfortunately, one again, internal politics and lack of coherence in the team (much like India, really) got the better of them. Brian Lara tried, both as captain and batsman, but after the first few matches, there was an air of resignation around him. None of his young stars had delivered and didn’t even look like they belonged there.

Dwayne Bravo was the next big thing in West Indian cricket but scores of 9, 16, 37*, 18 and 6 (not in any order) hardly indicate the talent that lies there. The 37*, his highest for the tournament, was against Zimbabwe and came in 54 balls. Like most others in the team, Bravo also did not look like he was interested in excelling. West Indies had promised much after their win over Pakistan (the win that came after being mauled by India) but just did not deliver.

One only hopes that players like Bravo don’t go the route some recent West Indian talents have. Franklin Rose, Ricardo Powell and Pedro Collins (where is he?) are a few of names that race to mind. In fact, so strong was Ricardo Powell’s aura that it completely destroyed him! He last played for the West Indies in 2005 (August 7 against India in Colombo) and will perhaps never play for them again. He was in the team for a good six years and some may argue that constitutes a career. On the international stage, though, he should have been able to put in a few more years. He was only 25 when he was dropped and at 27, is still in contention. But when was the last time you heard his name?

Franklin Rose is another such player. A true one-series wonder, he decimated India in 1996-97 and by 2000, was out of the team. Fifty-three wickets in 19 Tests over three years is not a record any international player wants to be credited with. But the problem is that he was never groomed to last on the international stage. Just like Powell and Collins weren’t. Collins is still in contention and with Darren Powell can form a potent opening bowling combination. But are the Windies prepared to take care of them as players and show them how to deal with stardom? It’s all part of the game. And to be fair, they could not handle Lara too well either. It was more Lara being handled by everyone else and keeping his wits about him that let him stay in the game for the last 16 years.

Again one can argue that players like Runako Morton, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle are stars in their own right. No argument. But to move from being stars “in their own right” to genuine stars, they need that final push. They need a winning team. They all have the talent, but they don’t seem to use it at the same time. And to do that for over 10 years is a fantastic achievement!

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Sir Viv Richards has said that he isn’t too thrilled with the way the World Cup has been organised. According to him, the excitement normally associated with cricket in the Caribbean is missing; even at the new Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. He said, “Those of us who have played here know what it’s all about; the excitement factor. We are a vibrant people.” There is a lot of criticism about the organisation and despite the best intentions and efforts, it’s just not coming together as yet. Add to that the fact that the Windies will be knocked out soon and the attendances would dwindle further.
 
One team that doesn’t have to worry about getting knocked out is New Zealand and Craig McMillan says he is feeling good about New Zealand’s chances. Can’t really disagree with him considering New Zealand is playing some pretty fabulous cricket. One wonders if even Australia can stop them. McMillan is not getting overconfident, though. He knows there are some big matches coming up before the semi-final and New Zealand could still get knocked out if England can spring a miracle. But there’s more of a mathematical chance of that happening that reality!
 
Meanwhile, the developments in India are affecting the Bangladesh team in the Caribbean! Dav Whatmore’s open interest in coaching the Indian team has irked the Bangladesh board and apparently some players too. It’s not surprising. On the one side, his team’s enjoying their best month of cricket ever, but they are not winning. On the other, a job as the Indian coach would be the biggest challenge he could ask for as coach not to mention the riches it brings along! He is caught between a rock and a hard place and if he is seriously interested (which he insists he is), he had to make his intentions clear.
 
One of the biggest matches coming up is on Sunday between archrivals Australia and England and Australia would be itching to take revenge for the CB Series final loss. That loss sparked off a five-match losing streak before Ricky Ponting’s return brought them back into form and is now back on track to completing a hat-trick. The next three weeks shall reveal a champion but there is a lot of cricket to be played before that. And don’t mind the organisational glitches. Just enjoy!

Will you experience withdrawal symptoms with the upcoming two-day break in the cricket? Or do you think the cricket was never good enough to be addicted to? We are sure there are some who feel that way, but on the whole, it’s been pretty good cricket. If only the atmosphere at the grounds had been the same!

Enough and more has been said about the extravagantly high cost of tickets and how the crowds have found it forbiddingly expensive. Despite the best efforts of the organisers with pools in the stadiums and all being installed, the crowds simply haven’t been there. Not even for the West Indies matches.

The break also offers a good opportunity for officials to recharge before the final leg of the tournament. Once this break is over, the final scramble for the semi-final slots shall begin in all earnest. Australia seems like they will get there on a canter. As will Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa. England perhaps blew their hopes when the lost to Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, one of the two surprise exits in the first round, India, has begun the investigations into the debacle and the results are being seen already! Greg Chappell has already resigned and the race for the Indian coach will hot up once again. Dav Whatmore and Viv Richards have both shown interest but the mysterious ways in which Indian cricket works, it’s best not to make any predictions.

And there is more turmoil in Indian cricket with the announcement of the ICL. But Lalit Modi, BCCI vice-president, has said that the league is not possible without the BCCI support. That is true, but there may just be other ways to get this off the ground. The proposal now also has the support of some former players including Arun Lal. The uncertain days surrounding Indian cricket continue.

And it’s likely to be around for a while.

The West Indies have to back themselves to score the 323 runs since the reserve day would now be used and they will also get similar conditions to bat in. The bowling may be better than their own but the real difference will be whether anyone can play a really big innings like Hayden did.

In the second Super Eight match, Sri Lanka plays South Africa and the South Africans would be desperate to win today since they have no points to their credit at the start of the Super Eight having lost to Australia in their last match. Sri Lanka, on the other hand are upbeat after their win over India and will be a tough team to beat. Picking a winner in this one would be rather tough, but one would have to say Sri Lanka thanks to the match winners like Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya in their ranks.

South Africa has played well, but the bowling is one-dimensional at best and if Ntini fails to take early wickets, there is a chance the opposition could just run away to a huge score like Australia did. And a batting line-up like Sri Lanka just needs to ensure there are no early wickets lost.

South Africa will seem favourites on paper, but the Sri Lankan juggernaut looks good enough to roll on all the way. Sangakkara may have missed out in the last match, but he is good enough to recover quickly.

For South Africa, it’s important that Gibbs and Kallis return to form as quickly as possible. Smith can’t continue to keep the batting going on his own for too long. Kallis has shown glimpses of what he can do but against the big boys, it will be even more important that he performs.

An exciting match on the cards as will all matches coming up. Let’s hope the weather can stay clear.

Australia takes on the West Indies today in the opening Super Eight fixture and the World Cup is truly underway now. Brian Lara is keyed up for his team’s key clash against the reigning champions and today’s performance from the Aussies will be the first indicator whether they still have the fire to complete their hat-trick.

The Aussie tactics over the years have been clear and they are known to target the main player of the opposition. But Brian Lara is not one to be disturbed by such announcements. He has seen it all in his 15-plus years of playing international cricket. “It is the thing that actually drives me - that the opposition is going to come after the so called key player,” said Lara referring to the Australian tactics.

Today’s match should be an interesting one since the Australian bowling and West Indian batting are both slightly under par! Australia is relying heavily on Glenn McGrath and Nathan Bracken and hoping others play their part while the West Indian batting depends on Lara, Chanderpaul and Gayle. Two of the three are out of form at last count!

Writing off the Windies, though, would be foolish. They are a determined and talented bunch and have recovered from a hiding at the hands of India in the warm-up game. And now, having seen India crumble out after that performance would have given them even greater confidence.

Australia has so far looked the part of being the World Champion. They have won all their matches convincingly and barring a spectacular loss of form, should win easily. For today’s match, though, they may need to start slightly circumspect considering the opposition is neither Scotland now Holland! It didn’t matter really even when the opposition was South Africa!

Ricky Ponting has begun the mental games in all earnest but Brian Lara is not biting yet. What the team strategies would be will depend largely on the pitch conditions but one does expect the West Indies to bowl first and make any use of the morning conditions possible.

After two weeks of lead-up, this is the real thing. Four weeks to go for a (new?) world champion to be crowned.

The first two weeks of the World Cup were expected to be an extended practice session but have instead thrown out two big names: India and Pakistan. And in their place come Bangladesh and Ireland who may not give the big six any trouble, but rather just the odd scare! So with the major six teams virtually guaranteed two wins in the Super Eight, it really comes down to who can hold their own against the rest! Let’s look at all the contenders (yes, all eight!).

Australia: Still the favourites and especially after their win over South Africa, their chances look better than ever. Can anyone beat them? New Zealand has shown the aptitude but that was at home. England beat Australia in Australia, but since then, they have had problems of their own. South Africa is expected to beat them and maybe on a bigger ground, could well do so. Sri Lanka is in good enough form to beat anyone, but against Australia, it’s more a question of confidence than skill. At the moment, a spot in the final looks assured! Team Australia

South Africa: They may not have lived up to their number one billing against Australia, but they are a good team, albeit predictable. They miss that one enigmatic performer, that outstanding talent who could make the difference… a Shane Bond, or an Andrew Symonds or even a Kevin Pietersen. Herschelle Gibbs is as close as they can get, but he delivers rather rarely these days. They are still strong enough to make the semi-final, though, but no further. Mental toughness is still lacking and the bowling looked fairly ragged against Australia. Team South Africa

Sri Lanka: The win over India would have given Sri Lanka a lot of confidence. For one, they eliminated one of the biggest teams and a team that had just beaten them convincingly. For another, they showed strength of character and a team spirit that is a must to win at such a tournament. Their batting looks great, bowling outstanding and fielding stupendous! Can they be stopped? Only by the devils in their mind! Team Sri Lanka

England: In some ways, they have a chance. But in all practicality, they don’t seem to have the drive that is needed. Recent events that showed a lack of team spirit have further dented confidence. Freddie Flintoff returned to take the English home against Kenya, but the bigger teams in the Super Eight will be a different proposition altogether. Semi-finalists? Really outside chance. Team England

New Zealand: They were in great form against Australia and also have the mental upper hand against them. Should the two meet in the final, many may just bet against Australia! Much of New Zealand’s strength lies in the number of utilitarian players they have. Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum… all do dual roles and as a result, the batting and bowling line-ups are long. They have a good chance to go all the way provided they don’t shoot themselves in the foot. Team New Zealand

West Indies: They haven’t looked good enough and the pressure of playing at home will get to them sooner or later. The troubles lie at the top of the order with Chris Gayle not coming into any sort of form. Chanderpaul played well against Ireland, but that can’t say much! Lara, Sarwan and Samuels have all done well in the past but they need to put together a string of good performances over 3 weeks to make it further. Doubt if they can do that. Team West Indies

Bangladesh: They have played well to make it thus far, but this where they will find themselves out of depth. One will be the pressure of consistent matches and the other of the opposition. Most teams will look at a Bangladesh match as a good chance to up their run rate and the Bangla boys may just suffer. Well done, but they will not go any further. Team Bangladesh

Ireland: A tie against Zimbabwe saw them through to the second round at the expense of Pakistan. Had Zimbabwe won on that day, Ireland could well have gone home and Pakistan, through. But a win over Pakistan deserves to be rewarded and a place in the second round is what they will have to show for it. Once again, they will be the whipping boys even for Bangladesh. A couple of good matches will do them no harm and they should be realistic about their chances. Team Ireland

To sum it up, Australia and Sri Lanka would be worthy finalists with Sri Lanka having a good chance to win the tournament on current form. New Zealand would be the third favourites while anyone else would be a big surprise!
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More often than not, an event rarely lives up to its reputation after a lot of hype. But the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 lived up to all the billing it received it received in the first match at least. Batting first, the West Indies struggled but Dwayne Smith and Marlon Samuels ensured there was no disaster like the one against India in the warm-up game. They never batted together, but ensured that the West Indies total reached a respectable and challenging 242/9. The finish to the innings was rather emphatic too with a six off the last ball. Full Scorecard

The Pakistan bowlers promised much, but could not deliver everything. And they paid for it dearly. Too many extras and far too many loose balls coupled with some average fielding put them in a poor position.

The Pakistan innings got off to an exciting start with a six off the second ball of the first over but the very next ball saw the wicket, a rather fortuitous one, with Imran Nazir edging a straight one to Denesh Ramadin. Two more wickets followed including the reliable Younis Khan, but captain Inzamam ul-Haq and Mohammed Younis were showing signs of recovery.

Inzi definitely did better in the first match as compared to the last World Cup where he failed to make double figures in six matches! A good sign, one must say! But the Pakistan batting has failed and although one should not judge them on the basis of just one game, we have to since this was their most important match of the first round. A loss to Zimbabwe now (not impossible, mind you) could well end all hopes!

The most heartening sight of all, though, was the crowd who got vociferously behind their team. And the West Indies seemed to respond to their support too. Even when the Windies was bowling, the crowd was loud and in true Caribbean style, totally engrossed in the proceedings on the ground.

Unfortunately for the tournament, a classic match like the first one will be followed up by an excessively one-sided one between Scotland and Australia. Elsewhere in the Caribbean, Kenya will play Canada and although this seems like an even game on paper, Kenya is the favourite to win!