Evaluate Big Four after Aussie series

Unsheathed- by fans, media and critics - to 'decapitate' the heads of the famed and much - celebrated middle order batsmen of the Indian cricket team in the aftermath of the recent Test series in Sri Lanka.

In fact , in these days of real-time public guillotining and instant judgment (and literally by the second on cricket portals and Websites and by the half-hour on "hysterical' news channels), the collective failures of the Big Four batsmen or the four Pandavas (ironic that Virender Sehwag with his excellent Test match performances and records in the same golden period of the Big Four has only belatedly been anointed the fifth Pandava) were magnified and they were roundly criticised and mercilessly vilified - and this despite the stupendous and history-defining gold medal winning performance of Abhinav Bindra at the Beijing Olympics during the third Test. And rightly so, would aver even the most ardent supporters and massive fan bases of these icons.

But the interregnum between the end of this Test series and the next one against the Australian cricket team in October could be a good period for sane reflection, dissection of their performances, dispassionate analysis of their peaks and troughs during the past two years and the way ahead for the Test team - much on the lines of the "quasi-blueprint" which ODI/T20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni more than the BCCI or the national selectors seems to have drawn up for the Indian ODI and T20 teams.

Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman have formed the fulcrum of the Indian middle order in Tests for the better part of this decade - barring the period when Ganguly was dropped and Laxman benched occasionally to try out the five bowlers 'formula' in Tests which Dravid seemed to favor during his captaincy. While rarely have all of them clicked in unison, regular match-turning, match-creating and match-winning innings by a duo or a trio amongst the foursome have helped sustain consistent performances by the Indian cricket team and carve out significant Test victories and even historic series victories abroad (Pakistan, England, West Indies).

Dravid's prowess as a batsman between 2002 and 2006 in virtually every Test playing nation and performances in every conceivable match situation and playing conditions has been well documented and rightly placed him on the podium of all-time batting greats.

While Tendulkar's recent form - perhaps due to numerous injury layoffs and the wear and tear of his body over a long playing period in international cricket - has not been anywhere close to the rich vein of form and buccaneering batting exploits witnessed during the mid-to-late nineties, he has blossomed at times and done well on important recent tours -England, Pakistan (2004 as against 2006) and Australia (2003 and 2007).

Surprisingly, it has been Ganguly -for many critics and aficionados -who has been the most consistent performer since his comeback in the Johannesburg Test in December 2006 and barring the tapering off in the final two Tests in the recent series against Australia and his poor returns in the just concluded series in Sri Lanka. The under-celebrated yet classy Laxman has performed in virtually every series for the past two years while peaking and performing as usual in Australia in 2007 - his favorite Test hunting ground.

However, if one considers physiological factors, fitness issues, vagaries of form and injuries or even technical aspects of batsmanship such as reflexes, hand-eye co-ordination, feet and head movement, shift of body weight while playing strokes or defensively, technical fortitude, overall skills against both pace and spin; then perhaps a clearer picture can be drawn about recent performances and the near-future performing potential of the Big Four.

Seen in that light and perspective, the most perceptible decline can be seen in Dravid's game which though can also be attributed to other factors like the captaincy resignation imbroglio and his axing from the ODI team almost immediately thereafter in the latter half of 2007.

Dravid has struggled for the better part of nearly two seasons now with only his famed grit, resolve, immense powers of concentration and technical aptitude seeing him through to some significant scores -notably 93 in the Perth win in 2008 and even that crucial 44 in the recent Galle victory.

On the other hand, Ganguly -arguably the least fit of the lot- has actually racked up the most number of runs amongst the Big Four since his comeback (even accounting for Tendulkar missing three Tests and Laxman being dropped for 2 during the same period), and has enjoyed perhaps his most sustained and best Test run in his career up till the end of the SA tour of India in 2008. In fact, Ganguly -considered the 4th in the pecking order amongst the Big Four in terms of Test match batting skills, performance and aptitude - has been the best performing recent Test batsman or among the top 2 in averages and runs scored in at least 4 series (away tours against SA and England and against Pakistan and SA in India).

But an important point needs to be highlighted before the selectors sit down to draw up a future plan for the Test team as well so that there is no ad-hoc chopping or mass sacking just on the basis of perhaps the first collective failure of the Big 4 in one series in recent memory. And that fact is that these 4 (Ganguly more as a captain than as a batsman) have been at their very resilient and performing best against Australia in at least three series in this millennium.

All four clicked in near unison in that landmark series in Australia in 2003. Laxman and Dravid's exploits in the high-octane and well-contested series of 2001 - along with Tendulkar's strong performances in the decider at Chennai - are part of cricketing folklore now. Tendulkar and Laxman were luminous and free-flowing and exhibited the classicality of sub -continental batsmanship in the just concluded series Down Under. And the Big 3 - Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid - have tremendous records against England and can be expected to perform creditably against the visiting Englishmen towards the end of the year.

So a total of 6 Tests can be a fair evaluation of the Big 4 in terms of commitment levels, actual performances (more for the team cause and rather than the self-survival instincts that Ganguly and Laxman seem to exhibit at times for fear of being axed at the first possible opportunity) and overall fit in the scheme of things till the end of the season Test matches against New Zealand in 2009.

There should be no question about their motivation levels as Dravid and Tendulkar being justifiably proud of their Test achievements and records would be expected to try and maintain their high standards.

And Ganguly since being sacked as a captain has been on a mission to restate his Test match credentials. The youngest of the lot Laxman could be the last to be phased out and that should goad him to be more at his naturally attacking best and not the conservative mode that he seems to be getting into of late.

While it is not necessary to always look at or follow the Australian cricket system, it should be noted that Darren Lehmann, Michael Hussey, Brad Hodge and even Brad Haddin, had to go through the grind season after season in the tough Australian domestic cricket arena and notch up huge and consistent scores in the Pura Cup (formerly Sheffield Shield) before being considered for selection. All of them got Test caps at a fairly late age. For that matter, even Damien Martyn and Matthew Hayden since their axing in the early nineties have attributed their celebrated and high-performance comebacks in Tests to the years of honing their techniques and polishing their batting skills in domestic cricket.

None of these players were just handed a Test cap or tried out in the name of building future teams and this despite the extended loss of form of Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor at various times during the nineties. It was only when the right and mature replacements were identified and after extended apprenticeships in domestic cricket were they tried or reinstated.

Amongst the batch of Indian players fighting to break into the middle order, only S. Badrinath has done the hard yards in domestic cricket. Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Robin Uthappa and even Yuvraj Singh have rarely, if ever, run up sustained performances in Ranji and Duleep Trophy cricket before being fast-forwarded into the ODI teams on the strength of sheer potential and talent.

Laxman during his occasional exiles from the Indian team used to grind it out in domestic cricket, build up concentration levels, big innings playing skills before translating that form, stamina and performance in Test matches almost immediately after being recalled.

Gautam Gambhir after his middling performances in Tests in his previous stints realized the value of big and long innings and racked up consistent scores in domestic cricket which has translated into his current superb and highly consistent run in all 3 formats of the game. Wasim Jaffer before being exposed a bit against the Aussies and against SA recently had done likewise for four years before his second and relatively more successful comeback in 2006. A couple of generations ago (in cricketing terms), Mohinder Amarnath did the same before his comeback and world-beating performances on the twin tours of Pakistan and West Indies in the 1982-83 season - and against 2 of the most potent and best bowling attacks of the eighties.

The point is unlike in an ODI or a T20, one cannot just try out players - and especially young or rookie players - in Test matches and only the proven best and seasoned players have to play at most times. Upcoming players have to be seen to be Test match ready or a young player should show extraordinary potential or possess rare talent which seems to be so only in the case of Rohit Sharma currently from the new crop. In much the same manner as it has been in the case of Michael Clarke - though even he had to bide his time before the retirements of Lehmann and Martyn to get a chance to re-establish himself after his debut at a young age in 2004 - and Alistair Cook.

While there can be no room for sentiments in modern day cricket and more so given the dictates of commercial interests and stricter accountability, still the Big 4 because of their proven talent and immense experience deserve another chance in the forthcoming Tests and not necessarily due to their past performances and indisputably fine records alone.

Successful and performing Test teams (and the Indian Test team has been one in this millennium) cannot and should never be dismantled overnight. History bears witness to what happened to Australia in the mid-80s (after the retirements of Greg Chappell, Rodney Marsh, Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee almost simultaneously) and West Indies in the early-90s (after the ousters of Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge and the retirements of Malcolm Marshall and Jeff Dujon). Australian cricket took a decade to recover and West Indies has been in a state of near terminal decline since the loss of the "unofficial" World Champions-deciding Test series to Australia in 1995.

A 3-1 or even a 2-0 loss against the hungry and craving- for- redemption Australians (after their pyrrhic 2-1 victory over India early this year) without any 2 or 3 of the Big 4 can actually set back Indian cricket badly and even blemish the proud record of the Indian Test team against the best team of this era since 1996 (8 wins for India as against 10 for Australia in 22 well-contested Test matches including the one-off Test in Delhi in 1996), - a year when Dravid Ganguly and Laxman (after brief stints as an opener and the forced ouster of Mohammed Azharuddin) started playing alongside the already legendary Tendulkar to form the famed and long-serving Indian middle order quartet in Test cricket.

A year down the line, the future Indian Test team line- up in batting order could possibly look something like this:

Virender Sehwag (captain)

Gautam Gambhir

Rohit Sharma

S. Badrinath

Manoj Tiwary (Tiwary has raw talent, skills and rare stroke playing ability but his confidence level needs to be boosted)

Yuvraj Singh/Suresh Raina (if the Big 4 are ousted or phased out, Yuvraj for all his tepid Test performances of late will have to come into the reckoning again)

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Piyush Chawla

Harbhajan Singh

Ishant Sharma

S. Sreesanth

Reserves

Akash Chopra (has done enough in domestic cricket to deserve another chance and still has the fortitude of a Test opener)

Pragyan Ojha

R. P. Singh

Zaheer Khan

Irfan Pathan

Dark Horses/Other Reserve Players

M. Kaif

Munaf Patel

Robin Uthappa

Cheteshwar Pujara

Shikhar Dhawan

Wriddhiman Saha

Manpreet Gony

http://cricketnext.in.com

Harper has T20 vision to protect umpires

Chennai: Increasingly ferocious hits in the fast-paced Twenty20 game is forcing umpires to consider using baseball helmets for protection.

"I guess it's only a matter of time before you see us using those," Australian umpire Daryl Harper told the Times of India newspaper on Tuesday.

"The bats are getting heavier, the shots are hit with more ferocity... I can bet umpires have to be very careful," he said, suggesting a baseball helmet with a full face cover would act as a good form of protection.

http://cricketnext.in.com

Duminy on his MI experience

"It's a little sad that we haven't picked up the momentum of winning consistently. But the tournament has only reached a half-way point. There are still few games left and if we are consistent in them, we will be on," said Duminy.



http://cricketnext.in.com

Amit Mishra spins Daredevils to easy win

The Daredevils haven't been able to find a place for Daniel Vettori in their playing eleven. But in Amit Mishra, they have a more than adequate replacement. Mishra spun Delhi to a win Sunday night and himself to a Man of the Match award.


http://cricketnext.in.com

For the love of Test cricket

February 7 was one of the greatest days in Indian cricket. A sweeping moustache swept Pakistan off in Delhi. Anil Kumble took all 10, and I was there. It was exactly 10 years ago.

And yet, it never matched to some of the greatest cricket I'd ever seen (pretty bold statement coming from a person who was barely 14 then). I failed a final mathematics paper just to watch Brian Lara score that 153 not out against Australia. I could have been retained in class IX, but our class teacher let me off on account of 'discipline'.

But 10 years on, I never imagined I would watch another great moment of cricketing history unfold right before my eyes. A lot has happened in these 10 years: India won the inaugural T20 World Cup, Sourav Ganguly came back, and went away in a blaze of glory (I'm Bengali, what do you expect?), my favourite cricketer ever, Brian Lara, walked away from the game, Australia captured the World Cup thrice, including a thrashing of India in 2003, and so on and so forth.

Only a day back was the turning of another chapter in world cricket. The IPL auction set another benchmark. Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen became the costliest cricketers ever. Yet, February 7, 2009, gave birth to new memories.

This was a team I would support even when my own team played them: the West Indies. Yet, it was seldom that I would see them win. They were awful in the late 90s. Curtly and Courtney went away, and the West Indies were never the same again. Carl Hooper and Jimmy Adams also went. There was nothing left to support. Embarrassment kept getting a new name each time the West Indies went down.

But it all changed today. They were playing England in the first Test at Sabina Park. The same side which humiliated them five years ago at the same venue. Remember Brian Lara's 400 not out? Yeah, the same series. The West Indies were all out for 47 in an innings. Ten years further back, in 1994, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh had inflicted the same misery on England when they were run down for 46.

Mike Atherton kept saying the wheel had come full circle when the West Indies beat England after the Poms were shot out for 51 in their second innings today. It all came back. The old stars whose posters I'd collect weren't there today. But there was a certain Chris Gayle, and his victorious team.

All I hear people saying these days is 'Test cricket's boring'. 'Twenty20 is here to stay'. 'No other team like the Indian team' (I live in India.) Could agree with the third point. But did you see what I saw tonight?

Test cricket is the pinnacle of all cricket, if not all sport. The West Indies have won since their downfall too. But this time it seems the streak could stretch. Let's hope so. For the good of cricket. Watch the highlights of the game, although I expect the IPL owners to stay away!

Icing on the cake? Usain Bolt celebrating with Chris Gayle.

http://cricketnext.in.com

World cricket - Modi-fied

For a man who revolutionised cricket, it is surprising to see the number of detractors Lalit Modi has, especially in his own country. The conglomeration of hate articles that have cropped up in one year about Mr. Modi surely makes me wonder, what problem do we really have with him?

The BCCI was formed in 1928. How many cricket administrators can you remember? Let me rephrase, how many cricket administrators have done something that you are aware of other than the court cases for forgery, fraud, embezzlement and corruption?

Yes, Modi also has many of those to his name but at least he has done something besides that; and something colossal.

It cannot be denied that Lalit Modi is one of the smartest administrators in world sports. How many people can re-arrange a mega event like IPL in a different country within 48 hours after their own Government has squashed all their hopes.

Should the IPL have been postponed or cancelled? Debatable.

But it would be unfair to expect the IPL to rest on its heels and not try to rescue the tournament. It's easy for us to say it should not happen and elections take priority. But 1000 crore ride on it, and many lives. And simple economics suggests that a 1000-crore loss would trickle down to many who may not be directly related to the tournament and in times of recession that won't do anybody any favour.

Modi could easily sit back and enjoy the luxuries a BCCI office bearer is showered with. If IPL does not happen, his life is not going to end. And if money was his only motivation, I don't think he would have to get up from his barcalounger, the moolah would come on its own.

At least Modi works for his money. He works fast and earns faster. Is there something really wrong with it? Anybody who says they don't like money, either he/she is lying or something is seriously wrong.

Some say the IPL will only tire the Indian players more who are overworked anyway. But do you really see the Indians sitting at home and resting for a month without the BCCI coming up with another impromptu tour to Sri Lanka or an inconsequential tri-series in Dhaka.

Would you rather see Rajasthan Royals versus Delhi Daredevils or India versus Bangladesh in Dhaka? Again debatable.

But anybody who knows cricket will know IPL or for that matter Twenty20 cannot replace Test cricket or one-day cricket. It never can and it never will. Like most things and people in our lives, they have their own individual places.

Modi's brainchild IPL has been a revolution. It may not be a big success like it was last year but how many will deny the fact that it was an unprecedented spectacle. And it worked for Indian cricket. Unknown players rubbed shoulders with the best in the world.

Rookies like Swapnil Asnodkar opened with Graeme Smith, batted with Shane Watson, played under Shane Warne, faced Mohammad Asif, Glenn McGrath and Daniel Vettori in a space of three hours.

Would Yusuf Pathan be in the Indian team or for that matter Shane Watson in the Australian if it was not for the duo's exploits in last year's IPL?

The IPL had to have a positive impact on the domestic structure; most players in the league were Indians. After the tournament, most would have turned into better and smarter players.

Both Modi and IPL have flaws but neither of them are a curse to Indian cricket.

So, stop the Modi bashing and enjoy what he brought to us -the Indian Premier League and if you are still not convinced, you can always follow the general elections on another channel.

http://cricketnext.in.com

Modi's IPL a tawdry throwing problem

In a world where sport is ignored in order to promote a cheap television image of an ongoing series, it makes you wonder how former Test captains, once admired for their leadership skills, have been conned into selling themselves to endorse a gimmick.

While the cheerleaders get their tawdry act together, you have Lalit Modi, with the showy arrogance expected from a mediocre politician, or even some over-blown yet lightweight sports administrator, showing how he runs the Indian Premier League as its commissioner. All the while, he is doing his best to thumb his nose at the International Cricket Council and other member countries.

But in two of many of the contrived episodes in the so-called ‘tactical break' there was Kepler Wessels giving a sheepish grin when wearing a white top endorsing the IPL sponsors' logo, he talked to Matthew Hayden at The Wanderers about the IPL.

You don't need to be a public relations expert (mindful that an ‘ex' is a has been and a ‘spurt' is a drip under pressure – hence ‘exspurt') wondering what next will emerge from this malfunctioning PR corps who dress former Test captains as puppets. What makes it more hilarious are the now tacky de rigueur media releases which actually concerning the game of cricket.

First is the way the PR goofs handled the media release citing Kamran Khan, the Rajasthan Royals bowler, whose action at times could make him more useful in a javelin-throwing event and a place in the Indian Olympic squad.

In the statement released, Modi consequently comes across as a mismanaged Thespian disaster involved in an act that is sheer theatrical torture and makes him appear a bigger idiot than did George Bush on a good day. Reference here concerns the Kamran issue and how this is to be handled. The second is the matter touched on last week over the IPL and match-fixing security and the BCCI president, Shashank Manohar's response to the match-fixing issue, which it is said, has created doubt about the results of some IPL games last year.

In a media release on the Kamran action, it is noted that Modi said he had seen the report of the three umpires and video material of the game at "the Centurion in Pretoria".

Really? At the Centurion in Pretoria? What sort of obtuse gibberish is this from what is a bunch of sycophantic morons running the IPL PR system? Just where on the map of South Africa is the Centurion in Pretoria? Is it a hotel, a shopping mall or a suburb of Tshwane?

What this explains is just how dysfunctional the whole system has become, with the chief mutant ninja and his motley moronic pals giving misleading geographic details.

http://cricketnext.in.com

Is IPL a great leveller?

Why should cricket be batsmen's game alone. The shortest version of the game and probably the richest, Indian Premier League (IPL) has yet again proved that point but a bit harshly this time around.

It was assumed, by one and all, that Twenty20 cricket was for young legs. Even the great Sachin Tendulkar, who does not like to be kept out of a practice match even agreed and refused to be part of the Indian Twenty20 side, which could have benefited immensely with the sheer presence of the greatest batsman of all time.

The second edition of the IPL has given a new lease of life for aged or retired batsmen, who are considered not good for even One-Day Internationals after the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya (oldest but still the fittest), Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Rahul Dravid managed to play match-winning knocks mid-way through the IPL.

However, the same cannot be said about the bowlers. Glenn McGrath, who was considered as the best fast bowler in the world not so long ago is warming the Delhi Daredevils' bench so is South African speedster Makhaya Ntini, who would have been the first choice fast bowler for the Proteas, for Chennai Super Kings.

Even the not so old Ferveez Mahroof is making his presence felt from the sidelines giving short interviews during Delhi Daredevils' matches.

What makes only the senior batsmen click and not the bowlers is something hard to explain until and unless the likes of McGrath and Ntini are given a chance to prove their worth for the team.

Not that they are not contributing to the success of their respective teams. There sheer presence in the dressing room (dugouts) and their valuable tips itself will be a great learning curve for any young and aspiring cricketer.

But what the IPL-II itself is missing is the battle-royal between Tendulkar-McGrath or Jayasuriya vs Ntini or McGrath vs H Gibbs or even to see how McGrath, the champion bowler, will treat his former Aussie teammates Hayden, Gilchrist or even Andrew Symonds. Probably many die-hard cricket fans would have given anything away to witness such a spectacle.

McGrath and Ntini, who have always captivated the Indian fans with their sheer speed and consistency whenever they have toured India or played against us, will be missed sadly by the Indian TV audience even though there is a more than hundred per cent chance that both the aging warriors will surely be seen in action before the IPL ends in South Africa.

However, young Indian seamers, who have the chance of interacting with them, are sure to benefit the most and should count themselves very, very lucky to have come in contact with such legends of the game.

If only the shortest version was more kind to the ageing fast bowlers (the spinners seems to be having a merry time out there), the contest between the bat and the ball would have been breathtaking. Not that it won't happen in the near future.

Who knows if Mumbai play Delhi in one of the semis and Hyderabad play Chennai in the other, we might still see our wishes come true. So let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that the IPL is the greatest leveller of all.

http://cricketnext.in.com