Mitchell Johnson for Zaheer Khan

A week before, I had written a post regarding Zaheer Khan's inclusion for the four match test series against Australia starting next month hanging in a balance owing to injuries. And, now an Australian counterpart has seemed to have joined the party with Mitchell Johnson following suit after the Australian pacer has decided to get a surgery on his foot. In the same post, I had cited various absences of key players during crucial stages of a serious tour, who make a difference between a win and a loss. Now, it looks that my prayers are answered when another key player has joined the list.

Mitchell Johnson, though has been a noted bowler in the Australia test squad, was found to dominate with the bat during the recently concluded two test series against South Africa where he scored an impressive 40 runs to see Australia not only win the Johannesburg test by 2 wickets but also retain the trophy which they had regained on their last tour to South Africa three years back. Johnson scored those runs at a strike rate of 85.10 which speaks of his ability to step in at crucial situations. Without Johnson's knock, Australia could have never leveled the test series against the Proteas.

Johnson is one of those players in the current Australian squad who can keep up the hopes of Australian dominance live in days to come though after the retirement of Glenn McGrath - Shane Warne, the Australian team is on an all time low. Currently, Johnson has seemed to have hit a bad patch with him returning with a bowling average of 45.71 something which should have been a batsman's batting average. Whatsoever, players like Mitchell Johnson will surely make a comeback especially in crucial games like the Border - Gavaskar trophy. Johnson is a bowler with a class which is permanent.

Though form can be considered to be temporary, class of a player has been proved to be permanent which has seen many players making a comeback despite going through a bad patch several times in their career. With lack of good players (unlike what it was the case some four years down the lane for Australia) the form and fitness of Johnson should be taken seriously if at all Australian cricket has to flourish. Australia's hopes on key players like Ryan Harris, Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson still hangs in a balance and the reason for this can be none other than injury.

Is dropping Harbhajan Singh justified?

Well the news we hear at the moment is that India's star off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is dropped from the Indian squad that would be facing the Aussies in the Border - Gavaskar trophy scheduled next month. The reason for the same is thought to be his lack of form in the four tests against England where he was instrumental in taking just two wickets from the two games he played before an abdominal-muscle injury got the better off him. Since then, Harbhajan Singh was not even considered for the tests against West Indies though the series was held at home and not away.

With such an injury taking a toll on any player, nothing different can be expected by the selectors whatsoever. However, taking into consideration his form, dropping Harbhajan Singh should be a good decision to some extent. But, the other side of the coin suggests something different. Harbhajan Singh is the lone and the most successful spinner in the current India squad especially in tests. There are the likes of Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja who have been successful but, without an experienced spinner top support from the other end, nothing special can be expected from the above mentioned spinners in this tour.

And, off-late there is the inclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin who was awarded the man of the series in the recently concluded test series against West Indies at home. That definitely deserves a lot of recognition but, things cannot be expected to be the same this time as well. The series is not played at home unlike what it was against the West Indies. Moreover, Australia is a much better outfit compared to West Indies who are not placed just above Bangladesh in the ICC points table for test cricket. In such circumstances, burdening Ashwin with such responsibility can be crucial.

It is an undisputed fact that India have so far never won a test series against Australia on Australian soil in its 63 years of test cricket history and at the same time, India have beaten them on their home tour to Australia in the previous two occasions. India still hold the upper-hand in the Border - Gavaskar trophy with Australia having lost most of its matches on home soil and with Indian team being on an all time high in confidence though their memories of a 4-0 loss to England is still afresh. Lastly, the exclusion of Harbhajan Singh might prove costly to the spin wing.

Key players' fitness always an issue

Well the latest abuzz in the world of cricket is that India's most experienced pace bowler - Zaheer Khan will have to prove his fitness in case he has to relish his dreams of touring Australia for the Border - Gavaskar trophy starting late next month. This is not the case only with Zaheer Khan and not the case only regarding India - Australia tests. The most important players be it in any department, are found to withdraw during the serious phase of a test series. I remember Sachin Tendulkar missing out for the Border - Gavaskar trophy in 2004-05 played at home.

This proved a trump card for the Aussies who tasted victory on Indian soil after 34 years. So was the case in the Ashes 2005-06 where Shane Warne was found missing from the game which England won by three wickets. And, Glenn McGrath missed out in the only two tests which England won in that series consisting of five games. South Africa always have a problem with Jacques Kallis regarding his fitness whenever an important tour would kick in. But, luckily during such phases, we see Amla doing the job for the Proteas. The Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram was found warming the benches during crucial stages owing to injury.

The problem regarding fitness has more often got to do with fast bowlers than batsmen or spin bowlers. The reason regarding the same may be due to the fact that fast bowlers have to sweat it out more at the nets compared to players from other departments. Fast bowlers move their arms more often than players from any other department in cricket. The players who make it to the top ten can be cited as Sreesanth, Glenn McGrath, Allan Donald, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, Waqar Younis, Chaminda Vass, Brett Lee, Shoaib Akthar and last but not the least Shane Bond.

Very few from other departments like Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting make it to that list and that too seldom. Of course, in the last decade or so, Ponting has been on the top to miss a test match or a test series owing to injury. And, coming to spin bowlers, Anil Kumble tops the charts followed by Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh (noted spin bowlers of the world). Added to injuries, the impact of injuries are also found to target fast bowlers more than any other players. An injury to a fast bowler can be career threatening which would not be the case regarding players from other departments.

Dravid: Toughest player to bowl

Well the Indian test batsman-Rahul Dravid cites the recently concluded 2^nd test venue as the toughest one may be because he couldn't score more than 5 runs unlike the Jamica test where he was awarded the man of the match award for his fighting century. Well, if not for V V S Laxman, no other Indian batsman could really stand up to the occasion in the 2^nd test at Bridgetown. With that, it becomes another reason for anyone to term it as a tough pitch to bat on let alone Rahul Dravid. But still, West Indies has to be a tough pitch with its high rising bounce.

This is the reason why bowlers like Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall had their birth in the West Indies similar to some Muttiah Muralitharan coming from Sri Lanka and B S Chandrashekar hailing from India. The next generation bowlers from the West Indies like Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Ian Bishop made life tough for batsmen despite not receiving enough support from the batsmen. Even today, players like Merv Dillon, Vesbert Drakes and Dwayne Bravo have little problems in bowling a high bounce delivery. But, with the batting line up being completely being whitewashed, nothing much can be expected.

After the retirement of the batting legend-Brian Lara, there is no one who can withstand the pressure despite the likes of Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderapaul having the presence. However, all these should not be the reason for Dravid's remarks Instead these are the pitches one of their kind when the bounce they offer can blow away anyone's helmet. on the Caribbean soil or pitches.The words came from Rahul Dravid a bit late when the same should have made rounds a decade ago when Dravid made his appearance first. And, one has to wonder why no one else has said this but Dravid.

However, if the player under consideration is given a close look at, he is one such player bowling to whom can only be a nightmare. Rahul Dravid never scores runs at a brisk pace like some Virender Sehwag or Yuvraj Singh. Neither does Dravid has the temperament that Sachin Tendulkar has who can get to big scores without compromising with the team's victory. Someone like Dravid can hardly get out which is the reason why he is referred to as "the wall of Indian cricket". It is tough to get Dravid out no matter how many wickets are down for team India.

Semi finals of a world cup

Well with countdown beginning for the world cup starting 19^th of this month, even my eyes are set on the same. And, this has made me go through the past 9 editions of the same starting from 1975 when I was still not born. Well, with that being a different issue, casting our eyes on the statistics would mean a lot with the ongoing excitement in the wait game in all our minds. Starting from the 1975, 1979 and 1983 world cups in England, the semi final match was the first between the two teams under consideration for West Indies never played Pakistan in 1975 before the semis.

Since 1992, the semi finals of the world cup has been a repeat of the match that was played earlier at one point of the tournament be it in the league stages or in the earlier rounds like the super sixes and the super eights. Starting from 1992, the semis was Pakistan v New Zealand and England v South Africa with the results being the same. Pakistan had beaten New Zealand earlier by 7 wickets at Christchurch and England had beaten South Africa by 3 wickets. In 1996, for a change only one result happened to be the same with Australia winning the semis against West Indies which was opposite of what happened in the league stages.

In 1999 world cup as well, the result of the two semi finals happened to be the same with Australia beating South Africa by 5 wickets in the super six stage and Pakistan beating New Zealand by 69 runs in the league stage before Australia beat RSA by 0 runs and Pakistan beat New Zealand by 9 wickets. In 2003 as well, the semifinals were India v Kenya and Australia v Sri Lanka, the results being the same as was in their earlier encounter. India had beaten Kenya by 7 wickets in the super sixes while Australia had beaten Sri Lanka by 96 runs.

In the 2007 edition as well, the semi finals of the tournament was a replica of what happened in the earlier encounters be it in the super eight stage or the round robin stage. Sri Lanka had beaten New Zealand earlier in the super eight stage by 6 wickets while Australia had beaten South Africa by 83 runs in the round robin stage of the tournament. Another interesting fact is that since 1999, one semi finals is the one played between the same two teams in super sixes with the other being played in the league stages barring 2003. For some more feats regarding world cups come back tomorrow to the site.

Hosts at a world tournament

As the countdown for the mega event has already begun, a look at the hosts of 10 world cups, 5 ICC Champions trophy and 3 World T20s would be worth going through. Out of the 10 9 nations who have been granted the test status, all of them have hosted world cups atleast once, with India & Pakistan doing it twice in 1987 and 1996, Sri Lanka doing it in 1996 and this year 2011 along with Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and West Indies doing it once. With Bangladesh being one of the 4 3 hosts this time, the set is complete with all 9 nations having their share.

An interesting fact to be noted is that Kenya are the only non-test playing nation to have hosted a world cup match when they did it in 2003. Of the lot, only 2 of the 9 hosts has been able to make it to the finals of a world cup when England did it in 1979 and Sri Lanka in 1996. Further refinement would drop Sri Lanka for, the final of the 1996 world cup was held in Pakistan. This brings England a rare gesture of being the only hosts to have reached the finals of a world cup. However, until 1983, it was named Prudential cup which even drops England from the list.

In 1975 and 1983, England managed to reach the semis while both India and Pakistan managed the same in 1987. Australia missed out in reaching the semis in 1992 after rain helped Pakistan take the place of Australia. Pakistan missed out a semifinal berth in 1996 with India and Sri Lanka making it there. In 2003, the major hosts - RSA failed to get past the 1^st stage with Zimbabwe ending it in the super sixes and Kenya in the semis. Thanks to the forfeited matches by England and New Zealand against Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively. And in 2007, West Indies were lucky to be in the super eights.

So has been the case with the ICC Champions Trophy with Sri Lanka yet again being the only hosts to have reached the finals of the same after they were declared joint winners along with India in 2002. Coincidentally, England are the only other team to have managed to reach the finals of an ICC Champions trophy in 2004 after beating Australia in the semis. It would be worth mentioning that Australia are the only team to have won both the ICC world cup and champions trophy in South Africa and India, with West Indies being the other team to have done so in England by winning the Prudential cup in 1975 & 1979 and ICC CT in 2004.

South Africa has to learn fro India experience

Well as I have written in most of my earlier posts related to India's recent tour of South Africa which South Africa win with a lot of ups and downs, South Africa have only managed to take home the series and emerge as official winners of the bilateral series. But, as most of them have out it, it was India who took home more benefits from the tour compared to South Africa if not the series. A series that South Africa should have won 5-0 was won by a 3-2 margin. Had this been a 3 match bilateral series, India would have won 2-1.

There should have been no reason for South Africa to have lost both the second as well as the third one dayer with the expectations being so low. Chasing down a mere total of 191 on the board should have been no big task and, with 8 wickets in hand that too obtained at crucial moments of the match, defending 220 in the 3^rd One dayer was also not acceptable at any cost. Things are worse for the feat happened to be achieved by South Africa at home. So, one can imagine what might happen when South Africa tour for the world cup with India being one of the hosts.

This has been realized earlier by Dale Steyn prior to other members of the South African team. South Africa, as said above will be heading towards the sub continent shortly for the mega event and unluckily, they are grouped with none other than India, the team which tested its guts on home soil. But, once again, luck stays in favor of South Africa this time with Nagpur being set to host the India - South Africa match, the venue where South Africa claimed an innings win in the first test in early 2010. And adding to that, though South Africa have been unlucky in world cups, they are not as unlucky in the pool stages.

South Africa have managed 5/5 in the group stage of the 1996 world cup, 4/5 in the 1999 world cup. However, though RSA won just 1/2 in 2007, Australia was a better team than RSA. So was the case in 2003 where New Zealand and West Indies both beat RSA before they tied with Sri Lanka. And, in case South Africa lose to India, they have matches against England and West Indies, against which winning can be considered to be easy for South Africa. But, Dale Steyn has to be careful about his team's performance with Smith having decided to quit as captain after the world cup.

Unbelievable!

Well once again, you readers might go misled by the title which might make you think that the post is written regarding India's comeback in yesterday's match against South Africa after at one stage of the game reeling at 119 runs on the board losing 8 wickets leaving the tail enders a rather impossible job to accomplish. But, my post is regarding the man of the match award going in favor of Hashim Amla and the man of the series award favoring Morne Morkel, both of which were not justified. Of course, it was Amla who did a fab job for his team which emerged victorious.

My man of the match would have been none other than Yousuf Pathan who not only took the match from nowhere towards the target but was also speed in doing so. People might have come across batsmen who would have seen their team victorious after seeming to be impossible at one stage, losing quick wickets in important stages of the match and with limited overs to play. But, the pace at which they would have scored the winning runs would be nowhere close to what Yousuf Pathan was seen doing yesterday. Of course, Zaheer Khan gave him a good support from the other end.

I can recall the semi finals of the world cup in between Australia and West Indies in 1996 and against South Africa in 1999, both matches which Michael Beaven set right for his team. But, the rate at which Beaven scored his runs was very careful unlike a 68 ball hundred by Yousuf Pathan yesterday. Another match that I would like to cite here is the one between India and Australia at Hyderabad played in October 2009 where Sachin Tendulkar scored 175 runs while chasing a target of 350 and eventually falling short by 3 runs. In that match though India lost, Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the man of the match.

And coming to the man of the series award, Morne Morkel stood no chance with the likes of Hashim Amla, Yousuf Pathan being right there. Morkel was not even the highest wicket taker in the series but rather comes in the 2^nd place with 12 scalps after Tsotsobe who had 13 of them against his name. Likewise, Hashim Amla topped the charts for the highest run getter in the series amassing 250 runs from the five games he played. Also, Duminy was a contender with 244 runs from 5 matches. But, Morkel stood nowhere for the award with Yousuf Pathan also well in the race.

How could this happen!

Well, anyone who reads the title of this post would be thinking it to be regarding South Africa's loss at the hands of India. However, though defending a total of 190 on board shocks everyone, a greater shock is something regarding Sachin Tendulkar having to opt out of the bilateral series owing to a hamstring injury. The reason for shock would not certainly be the absence of Sachin Tendulkar for the remaining four matches against the Proteas but the question here is will Sachin Tendulkar be fit for the upcoming world cup where Sachin Tendulkar is about to make his 6th appearance?

Another feature to be noted is that prior to every world cup, Sachin Tendulkar is found to be rested from the team atleast since the 1999 world cup played in England. Sachin Tendulkar was rested from two triangular series', one involving India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in India and the other involving India, Pakistan and England played at Sharjah. Owing to the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, India failed miserably especially in the matches against Pakistan despite there being the presence of Dravid, Azharuddin, Ganguly and Jadeja. And, the bowling department including Srinath, Kumble and Prasad couldn't save face for their team.

It was the absence of Sachin Tendulkar in the match against Zimbabwe that proved to be very costly for India which saw them struggle and end their world cup dreams in the super six stage itself of the world cup after their loss to Australia. Sachin Tendulkar had to leave to Mumbai owing to his father's death. With that apart, even prior to the world cup in 2003 at South Africa, Sachin Tendulkar was rested from the Indian squad in the series against West Indies and New Zealand, both the series which India lost. Sachin Tendulkar's next appearance was in the world cup regarding which nothing needs to be stated in particular.

However, as an exception, prior to the 2007 world cup, Sachin Tendulkar was available for the bilateral series against both Sri Lanka and West Indies and moreover, Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the man of the tournament in the series against West Indies no matter for what. This time, though Sachin Tendulkar was thought to be available for the bilateral series against South Africa and now he has to return owing to a hamstring injury as mentioned earlier. Statistics suggest that whenever Sachin Tendulkar was unavailable for tournaments prior to the world cup, India have fared well like in 1999 and 2003 and failed when he was available like in 2007.

Down Down New Zealand

Well if one can go through cricinfo's latest article, wherein it has been expected out of New Zealand to take home some face before they leave the country, I can no doubt tell all you people out there that New Zealand has to play some lesser teams like say West Indies or Bangladesh (against which their next series is due) to gain some confidence before they take on the world's major teams in the 10^th edition of the world cup coincidentally held in few of the same venues where they lost their first three encounters against India, not before losing the test series.

Prior to the tournament, the new Zealand captain was found talking some positive stuff when he indicated that his team would gain a lot of exposure from the tours of India and Bangladesh prior to the world cup. But, if this is what the Kiwi captain is found to take home from this series, one can hope to see New Zealand wait until the next world cup in 2015 which luckily is scheduled on their home soil. Atleast, New Zealand should have won one of the one dayers to have been alive in the series if not the complete series.

Needless to be said, New Zealand managed to draw the first two tests before their loss to India in the third test at Nagpur by an innings and 198 runs. In both the innings, New Zealand failed to go past the 200 run mark. After the test series, may be India realized that they should have rested the key players like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh for the test series as well as it has been the case in the ongoing one dayers. When Harbhajan Singh was able to smash the Kiwi bowlers 7 times out of the ground, their caliber is well in front of all of us.

Though in case New Zealand manage to win the remaining two one day internationals against India, it would be India who would be experimenting with their opponenets rather than to say that New Zealand played decent cricket. If Gambhir plans to experiment with his team for the remaining two ODIs, may be New Zealand can take home a couple of wins. But, the ultimate loser would obviously be New Zealand who could not tackle a team with most of its key players being reserved. I hope the Kiwis should take lessons from Bangladesh who made history from an under - rated WI team last year.

Not a bad move

Well finally, some decent decisions are found to be taken by the ICC regarding the mega event namely the world cup that is due to start the coming year. Whatever, the news or the decision, whatever you may call as comes into picture only on or after the 2015 world cup once again thought to be held in Australia and New Zealand. Coming to the matter, the ICC is on a decision to reduce the number of teams for the mega event from the existing 16 to 10, which obviously means showing the gates to the non test playing nations.

However, the list might not include Zimbabwe and Kenya or Ireland for, their performance in international cricket is comparatively satisfactory. Zimbabwe has a history of playing test cricket while Ireland and Kenya have shown to be no less than a test playing nation like Bangladesh or West Indies. Other teams that can be thought of to be shown the gates would be Bermuda, Scotland, Holland, Namibia to name a few though not that important. But, should this decision be criticized by anyone let alone the associate countries? With their role being limited in the event, how do the nations ask for a change not to take place?

If anyone would ask me, I would suggest that the presence of such teams can only ruin the excitement of the world cup nonetheless making way for unwanted politics in the mega event. Since the 1999 world cup, major teams have made it to the next level of the tournament though not deserving to be there. In the 1999 world cup, Zimbabwe made it to the super sixes at the cost of England. India lose their match to Zimbabwe by underestimating them and then South Africa lose to Zimbabwe not before confirming their place in the super sixes. As a result, India had to end their world cup campaign in the super sixes itself.

So was the case in the 2003 world cup when Sri Lanka made much of New Zealand forfeiting their group stage match to Kenya by intentionally losing (may be) to Kenya so that New Zealand faces a tough task ahead. In the 2007 world cup, though there was no room for any such politics, underestimation was at its peak with India and Pakistan paying the price for the same in their league stage match against Bangladesh and Ireland respectively. In the super eights of the same, South Africa paid the price by losing to Bangladesh by 67 runs. Are such teams required who can spoil the reputation of the tournament?

Another thing to be noticed is that due to the presence of the minnows, players can make a killing by reserving all their fortunes against these teams. One can remember that the highest team total till date in a world cup - 413 was scored by India against Bermuda in the 2007 edition. In that edition, India didn't even get past the league stage of the tournament. Glenn McGrath's 7/15 happened to be against Namibia in 2003 which cast a bad image on him despite being known for his accuracy. In that version, Sourav Ganguly scored three hundreds all of which came against non test playing nations.

This was equaled to the one scored by Mark Waugh in 1996 where he did the same against India, Kenya and New Zealand. Does the comparison justifies itself?

A big blow to the Ind-Aus series

Well it was the Sydney test in late 2007 that evoked the world's attention and bought into scene the umpire referral system wherein a captain can object to the on field umpires and force three of the many wrong decisions to the third umpire in case they are not convinced with the onfield umpires' decision. That particular test at Sydney had a record eight wrong decisions which was finally condemned by one and all. I still remember Sunil Gavaskar shouting at the onfield umpires Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor as though he was an avid Indian cricket fan sitting out there.

Following this debacle, one fine day, the umpire referral system was suggested by a brain which happened to exist but with limited success. I personally feel that the UDRS should have been bought into existence long back with every human being aware of the fact that people make errors and umpires are no exception. The world had to wait for the Sydney test to happen and Australia snatching their 16th consecutive test win in a grand style which will always be remembered for the wrong reasons as long as the earth exists. Well, everything is fair in love and war.

Australians can plead innocence with one out of the eight decisions going in favor of the Indians though the remaining 7 happened to be cashed out by the Aussies. Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor were found batting for Australia without bats while the Australian captain Ricky Ponting was found to do the role of an umpire when he declared Sourav Ganguly out caught. To be part of such a test match is indeed a glory for anyone both as a spectator and as a player. Now, in the same India - Australia series, the UDRS is rumored to be scrapped off.

Will the Australians once again make hay in this time's sunshine? Now, Australia are not chasing any major record like they were chasing their 16th test win at Sydney. In case Sachin Tendulkar fails to make it to the squad, there would be no reason for Australia to act stupid for, a victory is all the most guaranteed. However, had this been a test series, the implication of the scrapping of the UDRS would have had a serious impact on the dignity of the game and Aussies in particular. Oh! This time, the series is held in India and not in Australia for the Aussies to act cunning.

Mitchell Johnson too much worried about India

Well for the past two times in 2007 and 2009, Australia have managed to take home the 7 match one day series in India and against India. That was the time in 2007 when the Australian team, though fresh from its bad memories of losing to India in the semi finals for the world T20 at South Africa, were well fresh from their world cup win early that year. Australia were able to cross the 300 run mark on four occasions out of which one went in vain when in the 1st one dayer at Bangalore Australia scored 316 runs powered by Michael Clarke's 130 only to be washed away by rain.

In that edition of the bilateral series, Australia scored a 4-2 win, with India winning two matches out of fluke and not by hardwork as suggested by the scorecard where in the first match India won by 8 runs and the other one by 2 wickets chasing a mere total of 193 on the board. the case was a lot better in last year's series where India though managed just two wins never were let down by giving the Aussies a run for their money. India managed to cross the 300 run mark on two occasions and on one occasion came close to chasing down 351 empowered by Sachin Tendulkar's 172 which saw India fall short by 3 runs.

In that match, Sachin Tendulkar made news for scoring the maximum number of 150+ scores in ODIs jointly with Sanath Jayasurya. That was Sachin Tendulkar's second score above 170 which was till then enjoyed by only Vivian Richards. The series saw contributions from Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh along with Sachin and Sehwag. Team work was evident like never before in team India. But still, that was not enough for India fell short by 2 matches to take home the series. Now, team India once again is bound to face Australia like last year but without Sachin Tendulkar which has to be thought about seriously.

And, with so many drawbacks in team India, Mitchell Johnson's idea to strike India with the SG cricket ball is foolish. He could not hurt the already dead Pakistan with his fast moving deliveries despite Pakistan being desperate to lose. So was the case in the bilateral series involving England which Australia lost by a 2-3 margin. Now, with Australia's chances being high in the series against India, is Mitchell Johnson trying to make room for himself and take credit for something not happening because of him? Well, India is now short of bowlers and batsmen are in the que to take honors Mitchell!

Loopholes in SRT's cricketing life

Well hardly anyone of you would like to read something bad about the world's best batsmen in the first two formats of the game of cricket. But, if anyone wants to come across a batsman who has absolutely no loopholes at all, there has to be only a dream as such. And, Sachin Tendulkar is no exception when it comes to the world of loopholes. Even this great batsman possess few loopholes and ones that can hardly be forgiven. The first thing that can be pointed out would be that he holds the record for being one of the worst captains of India ever.

The only two trophies that Sachin Tendulkar has been able to achieve in his one year long international career as a captain is the titan cup in 1996 which India won over South Africa, not before losing 3 matches to the same in the league stages of the tournament. And then, there was a bilateral series win over Pakistan in 1997 which India won by a maregin 4-1. In his 20 year long international career in cricket, Sachin Tendulkar could not hold the captain's tag for more than a year or so. Of course, Anil Kumble also enjoyed the tag only for a year but for the wrong reasons.

Anil Kumble was under estimated by the selection and was forced to hand over one to Kumble when Ganguly retired and Dravid also followed suit when he retired from captaincy. And then, as mentioned above, Sachin Tendulkar was no longer eligible for the job and there was no other player in the team but Kumble to take the honors. Adding to this debacle, Sachin Tendulkar can never be forgiven for throwing away his wicket so cheaply in the finals of the world cup in 2003 held at South Africa. Sachin Tendulkar got out the fifth ball giving a cheap catch to Glenn McGrath.

Sachin Tendulkar's wicket was the most awaited wicket in the finals and Sachin throwing it away so cheaply speaks about the batsman's caliber in tough times though many a times he has proved to be otherwise. So was the case in the match played at Chennai where Saeed Anwar scored 194 in the Independence cup 1997 where once again Sachin Tendulkar returned back after scoring a boundary. Sachin Tendulkar has failed to score a triple hundred in tests though he has scored a double hundred in one dayers. Well, let me stop here before you guys curse me for I can read your curses as well.

Inspired By Sehwag

So far, if not for greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan, there have hardly been any followers for any of the existing players in international cricket. In fact, players like Dhoni and Sehwag have been inspired from Sachin Tendulkar to make it to the big stage. One has to ask Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara or Muttiah Muralitharan as to who or what on earth inspired them to take cricket as a career. Of course, though money factor exists in today's cricket, that was not the case some decade ago when Muttiah Muralitharan and Sachin Tendulkar were in their initial stages of their career.

Today's cricketers are more inspired by money and fame rather than the game or the challenges that come from within. Anyways, coming to the matter, a New Zealand cricketer Peter Ingram has said that it was after watching India's dashing opener Virender Sehwag that made him take the bat in his hands. The influence of Virender Sehwag on Ingram is to such an extent that though Peter Ingram has been repeated criticism for his lack of footwork, Ingram terms it to be the replica of his so called idol Virender Sehwag's style. If one goes by nature, their dates of birth differ by just 5 days.

At the same time, if their success in international cricket is considered, they stand way apart. Sehwag has gone too forward with two triple hundreds and six double centuries against his name in international test cricket which is bettered by only Sir Don Bradman, Walter Hammond and Brian Lara. Not even Sachin Tendulkar (Sehwag's batting idol) has been able to achieve the same in test cricket. It has been equaled by Pakistan's Javed Miandad and Sri Lanka's Marvan Attapattu, both of whom have 6 double hundreds against their names. However, this has to be justified if at all one has to believe that Sehwag is Ingram's batting idol.

Idols have to always stand apart from their followers in any field or else, who on earth would follow them? Likewise, cricketing greats like Vivian Richards, Clive Lloyd and Ian Botham have been an inspiration to batting youngsters after their retirement and so has been the case with bowlers like Shaun Pollock and Glenn McGrath. They were an inspiration after their team started making news for the good reasons. Likewise, someone like Andrew Flintoff and Craig McDermott could not be an inspiration though deserving to be so. Jonty Rhodes has hardly inspired anyone to take fielding as a career option.

Something similar between Lara & Sachin

It is not an undisputed fact that Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar are the finest of all batsmen of their era. The decade has seen batsmen like Inzamam Ul Haq who could pull his team out from the jaws of defeat in the semi finals of the 1992 world cup which Pakistan eventually won. Then there is Shahid Afridi, who claims that his favourite shot is "anywhere for six" and holds the record for the fastest hundred in ODIs and then there is Jayasuriya who holds the record for the maximum number of sixes in one day cricket. Otherwise also we have gr8 batsmen like Ponting, Gilchrist, Symonds etc who have been exceptional with the willow.

However, the world of cricket, if the last 15 years or so are considered, the only batsmen who have been enjoying a huge fan following are only two- Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. No one would dare to rate any other batsmen among these two greats and so would I. A Sachin fan can justify himself with most of the batting records in both formats of the game belonging to him. But, as far as Brian Lara is considered, if not for the unbeaten score of 400 against England, none of the records really belong to him in either formats of the game.

If Lara is given a little bit of concession, he held the world record for the highest number of runs in international test cricket until it was broke by none other than Sachin Tendulkar. Lara stands fifth when it comes to the number of 100s scored behind Sachin, Jayasuriya, Ponting & Ganguly. Lara's place when it comes to the highest run aggregate would be behind Dravid, Ganguly, Inzy, Jayasuriya and of course Sachin. But, there was one thing that struck my mind when Sachin scored an unbeaten 200 yesterday against South Africa.This was Sachin's 2nd score over 180 which is in par with two 350+ scores of Lara in tests.

It was somewhere in October 2003 that Australia's Mathew Hayden scored 380 runs against Zimbabwe to break the old record of 375 put up by Lara against England in 1994. Exactly six months later, Brian Lara notched up the first quadruple hundred in test cricket that broke Mathew Hayden's record and also was a new landmark in tests. Similarly, in ODIs, in August 2009, Charles Coventry scored an unbeaten 194 against Bangladesh which broke Saeed Anwar's record of the same score without the asterik symbol following it. And exactly after the same duration of 6 months, Sachin scores 200* which also put up a new landmark but in ODIs. Moreover, both Lara & Sachin use bats that are sponsored by MRF.

Why Does ICC Want To Finish Off U-19 WC in a hurry

Well the seventh under 19 world cup is on its way with as many as four matches namely-West Indies vs Pakistan, India vs Afghanistan, Ireland vs South Africa and last but not the least Canada vs Zimbabwe about to make a start on the first day itself. One has to really wonder as to why does the ICC want to finish off the mega event in a span of just 15 days, with four matches scheduled everyday and obviously at four different venues. The final of the tournament is scheduled on the 30th of this month, with as many as 40+ matches to be held inbetween.

It is really fascinating to see some new teams like Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Afghanistan and United States of America (USA)who are yet to make it to the senior world cup that is held once in four years making a mark in the U-19 world cup. United States and Hong Kong have made it to the international arena previously as well, the former in the ICC Champions Trophy 2004 and the latter in the two editions of the Asia Cup in 2004 and 2008. Though there are hardly any takers for the matches involving the aforementioned teams, one fine day, they can be considered to take the game of cricket forward.

Is it because there are no takers for these matches that the ICC is scheduling these games in such a tight schedule or is it because that the ICC wants the U-19 players concentrate on some other issues may be outside the cricket world. The major world cup the is held once in four years spans over two months, with the players from all the major cricketing nations having a year round schedule excluding their domestic tournaments and the IPLs. Even the lesser events like the ICC Champions trophy and ICC world T20 that are held once in every 2 years spans slightly more than 15 days.

Whatever be the case, there is no cricket tournament that hosts four matches daily. The maximum that has been hosted in a single day is three, with one game involving only minnows. It is just not understandable as to why 4 matches are held simultaneously. Is it the lack of viewers who watch these games? T20 world cup hosts 2 matches daily unlike 4 in U-19 WC. I wonder as to how come the TV channels who have bagged the telecast rights of these matches can show the viewers the match of their interest. Can anyone of you readers of this blog give me an answer for "What other commitments do these U-19 players have other than this U-19 WC?".

With so much loop holes that the ICC is not bothered about despite things being clear, it looks that the ICC just wants to finish off the U-19 world cup as a formality than ancourage the yourgsters take to the game of cricket.

A Lot Of Conclusions On Kotla

Well after the fifth and final one day match between India and Sri Lanka was abandoned owing to bad weather light pitch, not only have the cricket fans reacted but also the cricket board committee regarding the future of the stadium. The conclusion has that far effect that the ICC is considering about revising the plan whether to host the world cup matches in 2011 or not. I bet the ICC would not have even come to such a conclusion regarding canceling the matches that were to be held in Pakistan in such a hurry. It was only after the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team that the ICC finalized its decision on hosting the world cup matches in Pakistan.

Earlier to that, teams namely Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa backed out from traveling to Pakistan owing security reasons that was quite obvious and natural. Even that couldn't shake the ICC from canceling games to be held in Pakistan until the March 1^st incident happened at Lahore. Neither did the ICC cancel matches that were scheduled in Sri Lanka when there were fears of LTTE attacks. But, it has been less than a week since the Kotla one dayer was cancelled and ICC starts doubting the matches that are scheduled in Delhi though the ICC has not yet come to a decision regarding the scheduling.

On the other hand, the BCCI was found to take a quick decision on the chairman of the grounds and pitches committee- Daljith Singh, who also accepted not to have gone in for trials whatsoever. All things coming to light only after the damage has already been done. Moreover, we hear that the ICC has slammed the Kotla pitch in November during inspection related to the world cup 2011. Finally, when it was termed all over last Sunday when the referees came out saying that the pitch lacked bounce and was not suitable for international cricket, everything from the past is highlighted.

One has to really wonder as to how come the match lasted for 23.3 overs, meaning almost half the Sri Lankan innings was done with before the play was called off. I remember the Antigua test between England and West Indies earlier this year that was called off owing to a similar pitch related issue that lasted just 10 balls before sand started erupting from the bowling crease. One had to wait till Tilekeratne Dilshan encountered a blow on his fingers to stop the play and call the pitch dangerous. With such slowness evident, the pace lies where it shouldn't, when decisions started wagging with regards to a tournament that would be held almost after a year and a half from now.

Is This The New Era of Cricket?

Well yesterday's match between India and Sri Lanka, which was forced to be terminated after playing just 23.3 overs with Sri Lanka on 83/5 was the second of its kind in 2009 alone. The first one beaing the one between the West Indies and England early this year, somewhere in February 2009 at Antigua when the second test was forced to be called off after the outfield was termed a risk for bowlers. The match was called after just 10 deliveries were bowled and the England scoreboard reading 7-0 after 1.4 overs. However, this match was compensated by adding another test by making the 4 match series a 5 match series.

And the final one dayer between India and Sri Lanka has not been compensated. Is this because the result of the series was well in front of us after India won the fourth one day match at Kolkata? Whatever, it is not the question of compensation be it to the fans who had come to watch the match by going through all sorts of struggle to get tickets or the series which had to be reduced to a 4 match series that was previously a 5 match one. But, the question in front of us is what next? What if such negligence in preparing pitches continue?

This can just be called an initial start. There was hardly any such thing observed in the past be it anywhere in the world. There have been matches abandoned by rain, bad light, bad weather and at last bad crowd. But, these days bad pitches are also found playing a spoilsport. One just cannot imagine to what extent can this go upto. There was a similar hint in the fourth one day match held at the Eden Gardens-Kolkata when the lights went off with the last three balls of Sri Lankan innings still to go. Luckily, no such unexpected things took place.

Had the fourth one day match at Kolkata also been cancelled owing to bad light, it would have been wonderful. For, it could have been a 3 match series with India still winning 2-1. That can be the perfect result for a bilateral series involving three matches. It is still not known as to who is to be blamed for such a debacle of the pitch! Should the curators be indeed held responsible for this act or was it just a mistake on their part or was this unexpected by them as well is still not known. But, one thing is for sure. This is one way for the curators of the pitch to make news. Or else, who would be interested in knowing who prepared the pitch?

Who Can Stop Sri Lanka from losing?

The fact that a team that could contain top rated batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar and VirenderSehwag could not continue the same when it comes to a 28 year old Gautam Gambhir and ViratKohli who a couple of years ago was seen lifting the under-19 world cup can make people laugh and nothing else. A couple of days ago, I happened to read in cricinfo regarding the chances that Sri Lanka can draw out of the injuries haunting Indian players-Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in particular. And the result of all is that Sri Lanka have had their worst defeat so far in this tournament.

It is just disgusting to see someone like Ravindra Jadeja & Virat Kohli tearing apart the SriLankan bowling that included the likes of Lasith Malinga and co in the initial stages of their cricketing career. Added to that is Dinesh Karthik whose presence is felt only in the absence of the regular wicket keeper in Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Still, even he is able to make a mark against Sri Lanka. The lone six in the Indian innings came from the bats off Virat Kohli though it was Gautam Gambhir's 150 that sealed Sri Lanka's chances of being alive in the series.

Added to this was the 16 wides the Sri Lankan bowlers bowled as compared to 10 by the Indians. I just couldn't resist closing my eyes when the replays of Sri Lankan batsmen TissaraPerera hitting the ball straight in the air and nowhere when it came to the distance were shown repeatedly. That was the time when Perera was in full form and a responsible decision would have seen Sri Lanka piling up a more 20 runs. Neither did Sri Lanka lose wickets at regular intervals nor did they end their innings with a partly total like they have been doing in their previous matches.

It is not an unknown fact that in the last 5 years or so, a total of 300+ is not considered safe for any team. But, until yesterday, this was opposed atleast by the Eden Gardens where stats suggest that the highest run chase so far has been 293 by Pakistan once again against India in 2004. For the second time and fortunately in this year and against the very same Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir has scored exactly 150, the only difference being that this time he was unbeaten. The previous time Gambhir was found doing this was in February 2009 at Colombo that saw India taking the lead to 4-0 in the 5 match series. Next time, India can play their under-17 team to both beat Sri Lanka as well as get some match practice.