Finally The Flight Takes Off !!!

After much speculations regarding the continuation of the India-England test series, finally, it is really nice to see the India-England first test above to take off at Chepauk stadium in Chennai. This gave much relief to atleast me, for, days and weeks altogether without international cricketing action kept me cursing me all these days. So, finally, thanks to the Chennai test which I believe will go ahead successfully, without any weather interuptions and security fears. Lets all hope that there will be a good contest between India and England team, with both of them putting up a tough fight to overcome the opposition, unlike the English team did in the one day series, by losing all five games without any resistance.

I wish the lack of practice for the English team would not mind them from putting up a better performance what-so-ever. For, where there is a will, there is a way. This could be drawn from the fact that team India won the inaugural T20 world cup at South Africa without a permanent coach. With players like Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen, Steve Harmison, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood and others, the England team should not be complaining at all, as far as their talent goes. If the England team is given a glance, it looks a rather balanced team. We all hope that the weather gods do not come in the way of a fantastic encounter out there at the Chepauk stadium.

For the first time, the Indian team will take on the field without Sourav Ganguly. Even the pinch of missing Anil Kumble will be felt deeply by the fans I guess. And, for heaven's sake, the only delight being is the presence of Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and V V S Laxman, whom we have been seeing for a decade or so. Irrespective of their form and fitness, their absense will be really felt. Obviously, team India is bound to have an upper hand in the series, and it is upto England to make use of the talent in the team, keeping in mind the lack of weakness in the Indian side.

If the recent past is considered, none of the teams, barring India have played really good and decent cricket. Even the mighty Aussies were found striking a bad patch during their tour of India. Not only for losing the series, but, also for showing no signs of chasing targets and defending their low totals. Matches are won in such a way that neither the winning team rejoices nor the losing team gets humiliated. Neither the losing team makes up its mind to be in the driver's seat in the coming games, thus drawing lessons from the previous one. Now, I hope that the days of drought in cricket are over with the India-England teams resuming their tours.The best of all cricketing action is yet to come.Cheers!!!

How Long Will This Hide & Seek Go On?

Well since that sixth and seventh one day matches between India and England got canceled, there has always been hide and seek whether or not to go ahead with the series. And each day I open the newspaper to get the latest progress about the series, I end up finding something new and something different from what I read in the earlier ones. And the news right now is that the first test between England and India will be, by all means played on the scheduled date itself that is on the 11th of this month. And, I am not yet sure about this, atleast until the series not only takes off, but also until the second test ends.

Now, the news is that Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison will be joining the squad for the test series. The two had decided to stay off from the tour fearing security concerns.Well that is always welcome. And another doubt that as arisen in the minds of the English team is that "how far is Mohali, which is close to the borders of Pakistan, safe for playing, as far as the England team is concerned?" And the recent cyclone (as I've already said in many of my earlier posts) in Chennai is always a threat to the game going on smoothly. So, I ask to myself is "whether the series will really take off?"

The speculation is true indeed, for the vanue in Mohali is no different from Ahmedabad, for, both the venues are close to Pakistan borders. And even to this moment I can't understand as to what would the English cricket team get in return, for choosing Abu Dhabi as a venue to carry on their practice games? Are the conditions in Abu Dhabi same as that in India, or atleast in the venues that are scheduled in India? Likewise, Sri Lanka would have been a better place for them to practice for their upcoming Indian tour. Now, if the recent newspaper reports are to be believed, talks are on for the Mohali test to be held either in Bangalore or Hyderabad. So, what next?

I wonder as to what will be the outcome of such a tour, where the English team's focus is all regarding the security, which is not at all their cup of tea. Rather than concentrating on cricket, much of the fuss is being made on the security concerns. I wish they would have got answers, when the security cover was so tight that even the media persons were not given a free pass. Is the seurity issue still haunting team England? If yes, I wish you guys pack up your bags. With hardly any practice for the upcoming tour, I wish as to that the English players will give in the matches to come. Already, the England team are yet to come out of the 5-0 whitewash they suffered in the in one day series. And if their recent test performance is considered, they have no reason to feel comfortable, for they lost the last test series to South Africa.

Well, at the end of the day, as a cricket fan, all I would be lookingis for some really decent, entertaining action from not only the Indian side, but also the English side. And I just hope that the teams out there will be just doing that. So, all I would be doing for these two days is to just wait until the series takes off in style and in patience.