TOKYO 2020 Olympics Logo Update

 

Gilbert and Sullivan present The Animal Farm

Dramatis Peronae

Animal Farm                                  The ICC

Napoleon                                        N Srinavasan as BCCI personified

Snowball                                         The international cricket

Squealer                                          Alan Isaac

Pigs                                                   The modern day cricket administrators

Farmer Jones                                  The MCC

Old Major                                        A H Kardar

Benjamin                                         The writer of this piece

Boxer                                                The non-elite, journeymen cricketers

Molly                                                 New Zealand Cricket

The Cat                                              Edwards

Moses the Raven                             Clarke

Clover                                                 The glorious cricket watching masses

The Sheep                                          The unquestioning followers

 

The motto/slogan of the sheep a couple of decades ago: More boards good, two vetoes bad.

The Slogan now:  More boards good, big brothers better.

 

How the commandments have changed over time:

“No board shall kill the international cricket.” Became “No board shall kill the international cricket without cause.”

“No board shall monopolize.” Became “No board shall monopolize to excess”

“No board shall get in bed secretly with another.” Became “No board shall get in bed secretly with another without money”

 

Finally all commandments were replaced by one: All boards are equal, but some boards are more equal than others.

 

 “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”.

 Animal Farm

With Thunderous Applause

“So this is how liberty dies … with thunderous applause” –Padme Amidala

If all boards eventually fall in line to the new draft for running the ICC they will have willingly put back, just after a couple of decades,  the yoke it took them a century to take off. Tragically, the process of returning to the good old days is being led by one of those who were at one time in the fold of  the dispossesed with support from the two pillars of the old guard. It seems that in their very nature the English and the Australian cricket authorities never changed, always beleiving they should be treated a cut above the rest. This was the time for these power houses to have stood on the right side of the divide to remedy their past sins. A board even as powerful as the BCCI, even though it  may treaten to do so, cannot reasonably contemplate to abandon the international game. It needs partners in the other strong boards.

This is not only how Liberty dies but also how Cricket dies. This is repeating the past mistakes of the MCC which sacrificed the growth of the game at the international level at the alter of its oracle. Which makes one wonder, where is this reformed society, the supposed upholders of the spirit of the game in denouncing this dictatorship. The MCC has stood on many minor issues which were of no or little import in the name of the spirit of the game. This now is the time for them to stand and be counted to save the soul of the game.

Where do the rest of the boards stand?

Were CSA left out of the loop by BCCI due to their rather strong dislike for Lorgat? Had CSA been offered a share of the pie would they too have accepted the elite power sharing proposal? Will they if it is offered now?

New Zealand cricket authorities have always deffered to those from Australia and England and recently to the will of the BCCI. Their submissiveness in the wake of the Howard nomination when their own candidate was summarily put asunder – even though it was their turn to have a go at the ICC top spot, and their submissiveness to the BCCI in banning Bond when they had allowed him to play for the now defunct ICL are just recent examples. Nothing better can be hoped.

West Indies which is in itself a fractious bunch has a history of kowtowing to the MCC and then the English position (except in the case of supporting appartheid cricket in South Africa) will probably do so again.

Zimbabwe will probably follow the BCCI money.

It would help if the other boards clean up their act and improve their teams. In the test rankings if their were other teams replacing some of India, Australia, and England in the top four it would enhance their position.

On the strenth of it the remaining boards, especially if CSA falls, may not be strong enough. They have the ICC vote and one hopes they use it. They can discard the plan within the ICC. If a division has to happen it must be a clean one. If the boards supporting the draft wish to leave the ICC let them have their cake.

Art of Fielding

Vaughn is taking a step forward in his art career. His new set of paintings will be displayed under the title "The Art of Fielding".

"These are the actual field placements that I set as a captain.", Said Vaughn. For promotional purposes one of the paintings has been released early. "They will be priced in the same range as my Artballing paintings.", Vaughn explained to the assembled art reporters and critics.

Close in Field. £ 149.

Disclaimer: Parody. The painting is not really by Vaughn but you can definitely buy it for £ 149.

Tamper if You Will

England players, PCA, ECB, ICC, MCC and add a few more initials will stay away from the Shoaib tampering charge. Or if they are smart they will. Even Cricinfo has played it down.

Why?

I have not seen any videos yet but the pictures suggest that at worst it is no worse than what Anderson and Broad were doing in South Africa.

What was the punishment meted out to Anderson and Broad?

Nothing. Also the initials mentioned above have two apparently, relatively strong cases with the no ball issue and Butt's statement. At this point they would not like to muddy the waters with anything else. With Anderson and Broad's activities being fairly recent it will open a can of worms that all those initials above would not like brought forward at this point. The initials above have never been about complete transparency. Only when it suits them. For example no transparent investigation of the Oval fiasco was carried out. What did Fletcher and Proctor talk about and what did Proctor pass on to Hair that morning. Was there undue influence. What was Proctor doing negotiating with the team while the umpires were lifting bails. Or Koertzen's remarks alleged by Hair in his show-the-media trial. How was the ICC system of appointing umpires rigged that Hair got so many consecutive appointments to Pakistan's games. Why did the MCC call a laws committee meeting. The laws were not in doubt there was nothing to clarify which is the primary and stated reason for this committee. It was largely used as a political instrument to change the ICC decision where the ICCs own head just elected suddenly became a proponent of change though he kept very quiet in the run up to the election. The list is large.

But isn't this a form of cheating?

The way the law is written is pretty much the same as the don't ask don't tell policy of the US military. You can be labelled and punished as a tamperer without any evidence yet you are allowed to carry on as long as you deny being one and the umpires do not deem you one, arbitrarily. If ICC and MCC really consider this an offense they should have a much severe punishment. If to some extent it is considered an art then accept it.

England's Swann Song

England finally have a good spinner. He was on target, he was attacking, and he spun the ball. With the Pakistani batsmen more worried about the swing I don't know how many paid attention to Mushtaq's assessment of Swann but they surely should now.

Umar Akmal's (who is doing plenty for the bowlers on his own in this series) wicket apart his wicket taking deliveries were really wicket taking deliveries. A few more matches like the last four and the younger Akmal may be singing his swan song.

A Very Broad Nuisance

Broad as usual Made a nuisance of himself and again his infractions were mostly ignored by the officials.
1. Bowls and starts to celebrate with team mates never turning around to look at the umpire. On the appeal being declined (whether it could be said to be a decline since there was no appeal will be determined by the MCC). Then no challenge from England and the replays show, as Lala Ammarnath would say, that you can fit a football in the gap between bat and ball. The officials take no action (Though on a similar offense Asif got a 10% match fee fine and he at least had the wicket).

2. Turns eventually very, very late as an after thought on an appeal against Haider.

3. Walks all over the pitch as he returns from his follow through which to begin with finishes in the center of the pitch.

4. Throws the ball at Haider as he stands in the crease hitting him in the shoulder. Finally Madugalle gives him fine. Said Madugalle, "I understand the frustrations of a bowler in the heat of the moment but as an international sportsman one needs to control these emotions whatever may be the situation and always respect the opponent."

If this batting lineup is frustrating Broad then Broad needs a psychological evaluation. Said Broad, "It was the ball that invaded Haider's personal space, not me."

A Lineup to Defeat England

Pakistan does have the batsmen that can score above 400 runs. They are just not picking them. The following lineup will also enhance a strong bowling unit.


Waqar Younis* (Comes out of retirement to lead the side)
Tanveer Ahmad
Wahab Riaz
Zulqarnain Haider
Mohammad Amer
Saeed Ajmal
Umar Gul
Aaqib Javed (Another retiree makes a return)
Mohammad Asif
Danish Kaneria (Iffy but he can score a 0 too so has a case)
Umar Amin (included as a bowler)

They're all there. They won't even have to fly anyone in.

England Switches to Kookaburra for the Remaining Series

English batsmen were complaining they weren't getting enough batting since the Dukes were too hazardous for Pakistan.

ICC Anounces Test Status for Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands

In a short press release today ICC announced test status for Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands. It said that with their batting lineups at least surpassing the standard of one full member it was time to grant them test status.

the release further stated that China made a strong case for full membership but the ICC board felt this would increase the size of the board too quickly. China's status will be reconsidered next year.

The Australian Rethink

The bowling was toothless, the batting uncertain but the belief was still there. But for Pakistan's ultra-weak batting succumbing to Watson and North and Pakistan's inability to finish anything off Australia might have lost the series. Australia will have to rethink their bowling options.

There will be some thoughts on Ponting and how long he can go on and North may get some rest.

The debutants did well. There is something very odd about the way Smith bats though. His bat, his body, his positioning is ... weird.

YoYo and Other Conundrums

Barely, but finally, Pakistan pulled it off. With another influential series coming up they do have many immediate questions to ponder.

First, what of Younis and Yousuf. There certainly is at least one opening in the team. The position held in the last match by Afridi and in this match by Malik is still up for grabs. The Malik/Afridi spot should probably go to an all rounder but neither Razzaq nor Tanvir has been in form with the bat and with the newness of the lineup it may be too bold to try a new all rounder even if one is good enough. Also the thinness of the top order demands a pure batsmen and the strength of the bowling allows it. The question is can the YoYo fit "socially" with the new setup?

The debutants did well. Azhar Ali should retain his place and even Umar Amin deserves an extended run at this point.

Umar Akmal will retain his place but he should do something fast unless he wishes to be another flash in the pan. He can take a few pointers from his contemporary Aamer who has gone from strength to strength. Akmal the younger needs to use his head more and not be just a clone of Akmal the elder. That would not be good enough to retain a place in the test side.

The bowling lineup looks good. Waqar and Aaqib deserve praise for all their work. Whenever Waqar has been the coach the bowlers have done well. Akram too deserves a pat for discovering Aamer. Aamer for the first time looked like a complete bowler. There was potential before and some very good spells but this time around he was consistently very good.

Asif did par for what is expected from him. Gul too. The problem is the moody nature of Gul's bowling. It remained so.

Kaneria didn't have much of a part to play in this series. The problem with the bowling may be that of depth. If not these guys then who. Ajmal does not yet appear to be a strike bowler at test level and any niggles and injuries to the fast bowling lineup will mean the addition of another debutant in all likelihood.

The series against England could be interesting if the players have and are willing to learn. They will need to close out innings when bowling and they will need scores far exceeding the 250 mark. England will be a far more bloody minded opponent than this Australian side. It would be interesting to see which ball the English pick considering Pakistan's recent bowling successes. The weakness of Pakistan's batting probably does not make it a hard question though.

The Finish Line

Pakistan's bowling was always decent. However, it too has suffered the inability, in the last few years, to finish things off. It again was confronted with that situation today and had its problems.

Its hard to say whether the first innings score is par for this lineup or it let slide a sure thing. Watson again was there in Balaji's avatar. The second outing has seen a fairly decent start but a couple of late wickets and Pakistan's weakest suit, neither bowling nor batting but the ability to finish things off, will be tested yet again.

This way or that Pakistan have come close to a victory. Closer perhaps than in any of the cases in which they have let it pass them by. The debutants and the young players have done well so far. Can they pull off what their elders failed to do time and again? This could be a seminal moment in the development or coming apart of a young team.

Muralitharan

Muralitharan brings Sri Lanka to the verge of being number one as his era ends. If Sri Lanka take this test then a 1-0 or better result in the remaining games would put Sri Lanka on top.

After all was said and done the remaining critics refrain was, "But he has not been tested in match conditions."

But neither have most of the other bowlers including greats like McGrath who were shown to have 11-12 degrees of flexion and let's face it the game would be rather bland and dead if only Sarwan clones were allowed to bowl. In match testing will have to wait for its day and what it may have to say about "regular" bowlers may keep Muralitharan's name in the discussions on actions for a long time to come. For now he can rest a bit after leaving Sri Lanka in a position of strength unknown to it before. The Indians should heap as many honour guards as they can to snuff out any wistful feelings for a return for the rest of the series.

Cricinfo's Mixed-up Its Writers

Andy Zaltzman seems to be one of the more objective writers at cricinfo while the likes of Gideon Haigh and Mukul Kasavan seem to be doing comedy routines.

Then there is the "Views from Outside" which are so bland that they seem to be written by Make Hollowmanuscripts.

Springing Tiger Painfully Apparent Dragons

By Roger Ebert

This move reminds me of the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Except Aamer is not crouching but springing and the dragons, Ponting and Broad, were not really hidden but rather apparent. So it was really Springing Tiger and Painfully Apparent Dragons. So a thumbs up for the springing tiger and two thumbs down for the dragons.

The Kiss and Drawing a Foul

By Dr. Phil McGraw

People let me break this down for you. There has been a lot of controversy on the issue between Mr. Pon-ting, and Mr. Aaaa-mer, and Mr. Broaaad. Let me break it down. To Mr. Pon-ting this was like a kiss. Mr. Aaaa-mer leaned in 90% and Mr. Pon-ting reciprocated with the remaining 10% thus establishing contact.

On the other hand to Mr. Aaaa-mer this was like drawing a foul in basketball. He went in close with a feint evoking a contact from Mr. Pon-ting.

And Mr. Broaaad, I don't know what you were thinking. Come on now. Whether you think it is a kiss or drawing a foul your actions do not make sense. You are the referee. Yes you are. You are like the breath between the kiss; don't act like the elbow toss in the drawing of the foul. Ok.

A Hair is Born (Or the Growth of a Hair)

By Daryl Hair

I was ecstatic to see Broad's proactiveness in dealing with the diabolical Aamer. Indeed two times showing up close to the batsman can only be described as diabolical even though it is true that the second time it was actually Ponting getting in the final elbow.

I am amused that the Pakistanis made the same mistake that they made against me. They have not filed a written complaint with the ICC on Broad's unevenhandedness. This will allow Broad to continue in my ways until someone facing him is not a seventeen year old and someone who has a career already behind him and can take Broad on. But here is the fun part. ICC can then claim that no written complaints were ever made by the PCB against Broad. Which surely means everything is good.

The Ponting incidence was minor. Ponting has been doing the personal space bit for a while. The real story which everyone has missed is Broad. I can only smack my lips and be happy seeing another Hair grow in front of me. Ah the joys of being a cricket authoritarian.

The Defense of Ponting Act

One rather extraordinary claim has been that Ponting putting his elbow out there was rather a defensive act.

To illustrate here is Symonds tackle of the streaker. The elbow is jutted out to make contact not as a defence mechanism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW4mSNBeMYM&NR=1

Or see any number of baseball collisions. At the home plate where there is a deliberate attempt to impede the path of the onrushing player the elbow usually makes its appearance. In cases where the attempt is to avoid collision the motion is to try to move the body out of the path of collision. If the collision is about to happen and there is no way to get out of its path then there may be some bracing. In this case, as Aamer's action showed, there was ample time to get out of the way. There is no bracing by Ponting but rather a jutting out of the elbow (Elbow toss). In fact one could argue it was an attempt to reach out and touch someone.

Examples of Personal Space in Cricket

By Chris Broad

Recently there has been some controversy about what is personal space in cricket. As a referee who has some knowledge of this I was recently asked how is the personal space defined. I thought the best way to illustrate this was by giving examples of it. So here are some recent examples:

1. Clarke's neck is Katich's personal space.
2. Lee's back is Symonds personal space.
3. West Indies' bowlers shirts and abdomens are Ponting's personal space.
4. Asif's raised arm is Ponting's personal space.
5. Infact the whole pitch is Ponting's personal space.

I was also asked why I did not warn Ponting after two incidents as I had done with Aamer. There were two reasons. One Aamer did it in euphoria and Ponting did not look up in dejection. Second, see number 5 above.

I hope this will bring some clarity to the situation.

In Memorium of the Mother Defence

Ponting, still smarting from Harbhajan's defence but impressed by it, has come up with the elbow toss defense not that he needed to do so in Broad's presence. The elbow toss defence? To relax I do hula hoop tricks. After getting out, to release the tension, I was just practicing my hula technique.

Evidence presented:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww21je_rlHo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbIT5_K66w0&feature=related

Broad Minded View

"It has happened twice now so we as a playing control team thought it would be sensible for me to have a word with him. He accepted it graciously and undertook to avoid a repeat occurrence. As far as we are concerned the issue is now closed."

http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan-v-australia-2010/content/current/story/467275.html

I thought it only happened once:) The second time Aamer was not the one initiating contact. No warnings for the Elbow Toss?:)

So let's see the exuberance of an eighteen year old gets a warning but the uncouthness of someone twice his age is considered personal space?:)

Rime of the Ancient Cricketer

By Ricky Thomas Ponting Punter-Tosser

Excerpts:
...

At length I threw an Elbow Toss,
Through the wog it came;
As I have a cranky old soul,
Only the lad was to blame.

...

A good south thought sprung up in my mind;
The Elbow Toss did follow,
Every day, instead of fair play,
It comes to the cricketers hollow!

...

'God save me, the ancient cricketer,
From the fiends that plague me thus!—
Why look'st thou so?'—"With my cross brow
I shot the Elbow Toss."

...

Ah! well-a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Elbow Toss
About my neck was hung."

...

'Is it he?' quoth Broad, 'Is this the man?
Laid low by his wicket's loss,
Who threw with a cute breezy flow
The harmless Elbow Toss."

...

The Never Ending Story

A complex story at that with many subplots.

1. Axiom: No One Country Should Dominate

Finally Howard has found the right answer. It is probably lost on him though that his own nomination comes courtesy of domination of NZC by CA.

Howard follows it up with, "They've got to pay regard to what's happened, given that we had apparently put in place a procedure for choosing by rotation the president and vice-president of the ICC, and that appears to have been pushed to one side in the last week," Howard told Channel Nine. "But equally they've got to look at the future of the game."

He conveniently does not include the ratification as the part of the procedure which, perhaps in some perverse sense, does try to exclude the domination of one country: Just because it is your turn and you nominate does not mean you get to force through a nomination which others have an issue with (even if the issues are not flawlessly presented).

Now the rules are rules community (a burgeoning breed among cricket enthusiasts and administrators) should be perfectly fine with this. They've told us before that if someone is given the procedural power to do something and does it then it must be upheld no matter what the reality of the situation. This was the procedure and the opponents do not have to explain their objections.

However, fairness (something even above procedure and rule and the ultimate law unto itself), demands that Howard be given a straight answer. To begin with the letter that the six boards wrote should be made public to see what the boards actually said. Certainly if it is idiotic then CA would at least in time leak it if it does not come from the ICC. The ICC should make the letter public.

The problem with Howard finding the truth about the unfairness of domination is his history. If one always find the answer that always favors one, others have to scratch their heads. Now we have been told that his support of apartheid sports is old history. We are told he reformed a long time ago and then in fact acted against Zimbabwe in that spirit. Perhaps. But let us follow the steps taken by him over the last thirty years on this issue.

Howard first supports apartheid cricket with South Africa.

With no pronouncements in the intervening years we find that when it comes to Zimbabwe Howard is for sanctions because he believes that the sanctions work as he learned from the South African experience. This also meant end of non-interference in sports for him because Mugabe's board should not get 2 million dollars.

Finally when nominated for the presidency of the ICC Howard flies in clandestinely to meet the head of Mugabe's board. Now in the name of bringing Zimbabwean cricket back into the fold. This apparently because now things have changed and Mugabe's own sports minister criticizes Mugabe (Not an apology for Mugabe but what kind of lame dictator allows his own minister to speak against himself:) Usually they avoid doing that in public even in democracies especially when the issue involves another country. Mugabe should resign straight away and put himself in line for ICC presidency. After all its better to be not a dictator especially if you are a lame one and ICC seems to be the collection of lame dictators according to Haigh). Yet all the gregariousness had to wait until Howard needed a vote.

Finally once rejected he proclaimed that his support of the Zimbabwe ban was a badge of honor (but not before the vote).

It would be a lot easier to take Howard's new found faith in equality at face value if his positions when shifting by a hundred and eighty degrees did not always favor him. As Bertrand Russell noted about one of the prime ministers of England: He always finds God on his side of the argument (paraphrasing).

Howard continues, "I think it is very important we understand there's got to be a fair sharing of responsibilities and no one part of the world, no one country, should dominate. "
"People in the past criticised the fact it was dominated by England and Australia and now we don't want to replace one perceived domination with another. "

Perhaps he would unfold his manifesto for election to the presidency. Perhaps it will have something about abolishing the domination of CA, CSA, in running the Champion's League. CSA and CA were too ready to let the BCCI have its cake just as long as they got a tiny share of it. The rest be damned. They are too inconsequential to ask for anything. Perhaps he will tell us that in the interest of fairness he will do his utmost for an ICL revival pushing for its acceptance as a member of the ICC.

http://www.cricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/current/story/465944.html

2. The Cricket of Politics

Cricket administrators since the stance in support of apartheid in the sixties have been telling us on and off that politics and sports should be kept separate. Yet again politicians failed to keep their mouths shut. John Key came up with this gem:

Key said in a radio interview Friday that Howard would be a "fantastic" leader of world cricket and urged him to stand again.

In essence encouraging a deadlock. Perhaps next he would like to comment on Murali's action.

On Anderson, Justin Vaughn held the opposite view:"He is a busy man," Vaughan said. "The ICC president's role takes a lot of time if you want to do it well. The other point is the events of the last week have probably made the ICC not quite as attractive a proposition to people as it was. "
"I imagine there would be a bit of hesitancy from anyone to put their name forward because you never know if it is going to be torpedoed. "

So the ICC presidency is not good enough for Anderson but Howard should keep fighting for it.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/New-Zealand-PM-condemns-Howard-rejection/articleshow/6117513.cms

Then Gillard piped in: "John Howard, passionate, passionate cricket fan. I share some of the concerns he's voiced publicly about the kind of factors that are influencing this decision,"
Since she shares only some of the concerns she should have elaborated on which ones. Perhaps the journalists should have asked her.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/gillard-backs-howard-for-top-cricket-job-20100702-zrxp.html

3. The Journalistic Wars

Now the journalists are at each others throats. Haigh, in his rabid support for Howard, went after some guy named Alvi writing for Dawn.

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/463737.html

He continued with further Haighlelujas in Howard's defence.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.cricket/msg/0fb99457e1a9d64d?hl=en

Which prompted Bhogle to launch into a BCCI defence the basic premise of which was everyone who had power misused it and so it shall be so don't complain about BCCI misusing it.

And now Bal and Kasavan (the hindsight expert) have jumped in with harsher treatments.

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/465991.html

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/466271.html

The Australian and Indian journalists are at each other and no one seems to be exercising the journalistic detachment. Perhaps they all consider themselves more of opinion piece writers.

4. I'll Race You

It was not going to be long before race relations were going to enter the debate. The Afro-asian block vs the colonial masters; Who votes with whom on how regular a basis based on race. whether the 7-3 split confirms that the seven are racists or the three. Whether Howard is a closet racist or just an opportunist. To their credit no one has talked about the sports minister of Zimbabwe supporting CA's cause rather than ZCs.

5. Not the Real Story

The latest news suggest that Howard might withdraw or that the CA will withdraw and nominate someone else. Whether he does or not...whether he gets the presidency or not. This is a tiny issue only useful in highlighting the nature of relationships within the ICC and in the larger cricket world. But no one is yet talking about the most important issue that the ICC has either let go or has been powerless to do anything about but which is likely to make it even less relevant and more ineffective. An issue that will render the lesser boards even lesser. On that next time.

Kuch un ki jaffa'on nay loota

The story of Pakistan's trip to Australia:



Kuch un ki jaffa'on nay loota

http://www.cricinfo.com/ausvpak09/content/image/446371.html?object=406184;page=2



Kuch apni inayat mar gai.


Pakistan not only gifted wickets in the usual sense but gave new meaning to the term by gifting wickets to the Australian batsmen.

The Balaji effect was in full force as well with every Mckay, Hauritz, Harris taking wickets.

Skin Care for Cricketers

A cream for coarser and more abrasive hands. We now turn our attention to the oft neglected skin care for cricketers. The cream guarantees a high resolution sandpaper skin for those oh so hard to bowl on pitches. Acts quicker than it takes to prepare a dead pitch. See your new alligator skin emerge from the soft hands of a cricket writer within days. Now also available in fast acting variety for results within hours.

Sink or Swim

Pakistan's ODI squad has not done much better than the test one; their ranking is the same in either format though the gap between number seven and number four in ODIs is minuscule. The question is whether the rot that is well set in the test side will make its way to LO cricket squads or not. Anything less than at least a win while the ODI series is alive or a Twenty20 win would confirm the rot.

Will the return of Afridi and Younis and the change of format make a difference? Younis has not done much since his break but Afridi has been in good touch and in touch with Australian cricket. The strange thing is that as uncontrolled as Afridi's head has been during his career he may be the pillar to rally around. But these are strange days and must account for strange saviors. At this stage the team needs to get rid of the timorous soul that possesses it and for that Afridi may be the exorciser.

Pakistani players can come out with an attitude of a point to prove after their exclusion from IPL or they could let it get to them. It will be a test of their character. They could concentrate their minds on the only job they have at hand or lose all perspective. They should be clear in their minds what they have. They are cornered as never before.

Shahid Afridi Sings

(If you can't sign you can at least sing)

IPL say nikala gaya
Boli day kay mara gaya

Ishq IPL say kia to soach lay
Tu to bay moat mara gaya

Mujh ko khazanay ka day kar faraib
Moat kay ghat utara gaya

Moat say bhi jo na mar saka
Lalit ki nazaron say mara gaya

Main nay mur kar bhi na daikha kabhi
Nam lay kay pukara gaya

The Original:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTKCOGQnumI

For Sale

(Lalit Modi at the bidding box)

One player for sale!
One player for sale!
One trying and skillful player for sale!
I'm really not kidding,
So who'll start the bidding?
Do I hear a dollar?
A nickel?
A penny?
Oh, isn't there, isn't there, isn't there any
One who will buy this fantastic player for sale,
This champion and master young player for sale?


With apologies to Shel Silverstein.

Jaffa: Beautiful Cruelty?

Richie Benaud has been asked to date the first cricketing usage of the 'jaffa', an unplayable delivery that has left the dictionary editors stumped. In many cases, the OED is unable to tell how a word was invented. It is seeking assistance from people who might claim to have been present when the musical description 'ska' was introduced into british-Jamaican clubs. The dictionary is certain that gentlemen required 'something for the weekend' before 1990 but "finding documentary evidence has proved unusually difficult".

(The Times, 10 June 2005)
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Database/language.html#OED


Any one know what the results of this search were or what does OED have to say on it now.
Everything from oranges to cakes have been discussed.


John Hall mentioned that Trevor Bailey has used this term for a long time. What is the earliest known usage of this term in cricket or at least Bailey's earliest usage.


I would like to make a suggestion though this may be completely and utterly wrong and may easily be shown that way by the historical usage but it fits in very nicely and on the face of it sounds plausible (though historical facts may clearly show that this origin is impossible). So throwing out a wild suggestion (Only since other Urdu terms have come into usage in cricket). So with no shred of evidence here is the suggestion.


In Urdu jaffa means cruelty. In Urdu poetry it is commonly used in the sense of a "beautiful cruelty".

New ICC Snick Review Rules

The bat must come in contact with 85% of the ball for a snick decision to be overturned.

Umpiring Reviews: A Confused Approach

Whatever happened to that famed benefit of the doubt? Somehow LBW gets a special treatment. For a successful overturn on an LBW decision the batsman has to be "more than out". Two points are presented in favor of this approach. The first is the famed benefit of doubt must go to the batsman. The second, a modern innovation, is that "enough" of the ball must strike the wicket to dislodge the bails. Lets look at the second one first. Never mind that no such provision exists in the laws explicitly or implicitly it is also the fact that in at least the recorded history of cricket, at least international cricket, such an application has never been made. The law is quite clear: With all other aspects of the decision in favor of the bowler the umpire must decide whether the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps. Would we now ask the umpire to consider how much the ball would have turned after pitching into account when it strikes the pad before pitching? So let us dispense with that.

Now back to the benefit of the doubt. It is supposed to apply to all forms of out. In case the third umpire sees no conclusive evidence of out should he not rule a "not out"? Consider the case of an edge to the keeper. If all forms of technology have failed to conclusively show an edge is not a decision in favor of the batsman an appropriate response under the age old batsman's benefit?

Whom Does the Review System Favor?

Is it the bowlers?
Is it the batsmen?
Is it the run of play?
Is it fairness?

I think it is the umpires.

They are Finally Using Their Heads

The Pakistanis finally started using their heads while fielding. First Imran Farhat dropped a catch but used his head to make sure the ball wouldn't go for a four. Then Ajmal used his head to save may be a couple and finally Akmal used his head to stop the ball from going for four byes. One only wished that Gul too would have used his head and at least saved the six on the catch he had dropped.

Impressed, the New Zealand batsmen themselves used their heads a few times to play the bouncers thus ensuring that there were no catches. There was also an impressive use of the head when the ball jumped up of the leading edge and the batsman had the presence of mind to use his head to bring the ball quickly down before it could have looped for a catch.

Nothing New Under the Sun ... Including Rain and ICCs Inadequate Responses to Rain

Well they have gone and done it again. No reserve day even for the final. Having a precedent of a no results final years ago, one reasonably thought, would lead to some thinking and action over those years. Apparently It did; they asked for weather guarantees. So one must add that it should have resulted in some "reasonable" actions. Instead of asking for weather guarantees and such nonsense ICC would be well served to have an equitable way of producing results rather than these no results.

After the abysmal world cup this was turning into a nice little tournament. The middle of the pack teams really came out to play and gave the top pretenders the run for their money. There was going to be one match in the group stage between two of the top ranked teams. It has now rained out. Worse, teams can lose "free" points against West Indies if any of those games are rained out. With only three games at the group stage the impact of even one rain out is large.

The application of D/L is horrendous. The issues relating to power plays, overs per bowler and setting of the target per ball have be known and discussed ad nauseum. It is a reasonable method only when applied reasonably.

So who is to blame? If it is not ICC solely then it may also be the big four (or some of them) in insisting on such a schedule if they have done so.

Champions' Atrophy

South Africa, the original favorites, are out. Except for Australia of old everyone who has gotten to the top of the rankings has been pretty keen to slide down them at the first available opportunity. Next it will be up to India (and a little bit to Australia) to keep the musical chairs going or to leave the tournament.

The current odder

Australia 5/2
Pakistan 11/4
England 4/1
India 6/1
Sri Lanka 6/1
New Zealand 8/1

Despite the wins (and the only team to have reached the semis at this point) England seem to have not inspired too much confidence among the bettors.

Ranking Odds

The rankings look backwards while the odds look forwards ie ranking depends on what a team has done in the past while the odds are a measure of what people think will happen in the future.
The current ODI rankings clearly divide the teams in three categories with huge margins between the top three and the next four and between them and the West Indies.

The odds for the champions trophy show a somewhat different picture (granted that odds also take the format into account as well ie for example Aus, Ind, Pak cannot be all in the semis etc.).

According to the rankings there is little to separate the top three but when one looks at the odds the differences are larger. No doubt SA gets something extra for being the home team and being the maybe only 'strong" team in its group. India and Aus have pretty close odds.

Pakistan's odds no doubt take a hit from having two"strong" teams in its group. Yet they fare not too bad compared to Sri lankan odds. Perhaps the bettors taking into account that their ranking may be adversely affected because of the lack of games that they have seen. However, England and New Zeland seem to be unduly marginalized in the odds with respect to Sri lanka and the fact that there is only one strong team in their group. England takes a further hit compared to New Zealand perhaps because of their string of defeats against Australia even though rankings claim both England and New Zealand to be even.


Team Rating
South Africa 127
India 126
Australia 125
Pakistan 109
Sri Lanka 108
England 105
New Zealand 105
West Indies 78


Odds
South Africa 5/2
Australia 7/2
India 4/1
Sri Lanka 5/1
Pakistan 6/1
New Zealand 10/1
England 16/1
West Indies 33/1

MCC Issues a Coin

After its stamp and seal it was only a matter of time before we would see a coin.

The front is silver the back is bronze.

Shahjahanabad

Shahjahanabad

The Sovereign City in Mughal India 1639-1739

By Stephen P. Blake

After reading Shahjahanabad one starts to understand some of the military, economic, and governance problems that contributed to the decline of the Mughal Empire. Take the military for instance. While the individual soldiers practised their skills regularly and were skillful there was almost no concept of a thought out military exercise to the extent that Aurangzeb complained that he had not been taught how to lay a siege. Perhaps this character has been somewhat retained in even the current culture. Individual brilliance in team sports while exhibiting little team cohesion has been the hallmark of quite a few Subcontinental teams.

It is a small book (about 200 pages) that covers a lot of ground with a lot of references. Sometimes one feels that the references could have been discussed more but the purpose of the book is academic in that it is to provide the references while giving an overview and it does it well. There are some small errors that need to be corrected.

The only gripe I have against the author is in calling Bahadurshah Zafar an uninspired poet. The man himself may have been uninspired perhaps but his poetry certainly was not.

There were about a hundred men (The emperor, the great princes and the great amirs) who controlled the power, military and economic, at the center. This pyramid structure is even now true to a large extent. Even in very large countries and even now these powers are shared by a few hundred men.

The Short Sighted Led the Blind Nowhere

All countries have the right to refuse entry to anyone, as things currently stand. It is rather sad that having such a small planet to begin with man has found ways to restrict himself and his brethren to still smaller parts of it. We are not going to solve that one anytime soon so to begin again ...

All countries have the right to refuse entry to anyone. However, when they start to do so for sporting bodies the sports fraternity as a whole must object. Tennis did so against UAE. It threatened to remove Dubai from the calendar for removing Peer. England's recent record is something that should be of concern. It got Zimbabwe to remove itself from a world cup and now it has refused entry to a world cup winning team. In the first case there was no international sporting sanction and in the second only the border agents seem to have eyes that will see something. When things get to such a stage it must seriously be considered whether such xenophobia should lead to being excluded from hosting international events.

There is something troubling about pre-judging and doing it brazenly. This pre-emption bit is getting tiresome. It is almost as bad as some of the aircrew's fondness for their newly acquired powers in putting down anyone who doesn't show abject subjugation. Nor is it true that the British government's hands are tied by the recommendations of the border cops. When they wish a certain outcome all governments have plenty of tricks in the bag to achieve it ... or not.

But let us leave the governments and their workings aside for the moment. This was an issue where the self-appointed moral guardians of cricket, the MCC, could have taken a strong public stance in backing the blind cricketers for the name of the game is still cricket. This would have gone much further in making amends for its past rather than that trip to Afghanistan which was a rather shameful attempt to hog the limelight after the Afghan's success. Of course the fact that their players had benefited from playing in Pakistan's domestics and before embarking on their conquest a series of matches had been arranged by PCB for them got little coverage to begin with and almost none afterwards. Before that there were coaches and training that were provided by different figures in Pakistani cricket.

Also remiss were ICC, as the international cricket body, and ECB, as England's domestic body, in not raising their voices effectively for their brothers in the sport of cricket.

Now to return to the border cops. They do not seem to have a problem with a lot of politicians showing up in England when there is little doubt that many have come to stay for extremely long periods if not forever. Not only that they have a very hard time extraditing any of them. But then may be they have no say there against their government's wishes. Kick a few innocent students out but let's keep all the corrupt politicians collected from all over. The thing is that it is likely that it is the British government pulling the strings for other political reasons and the border guards are not as independent as claimed.

Also disturbing were the extent of guarantees asked of the cricketers. The cricketers may have been blind but it was the border guards who were short sighted.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.cricket/browse_frm/thread/5ef98e7a012e76a1/004ad36427f326a8?hl=en#004ad36427f326a8

The Drugs Conundrum

The WADA-BCCI face off puts in the limelight once again the issue of drugs in sports and questions on how it must be handled. To begin with WADA has had a confused history. Its goals ranging from the fight against drugs to ensuring fair competition. It has not helped that drug testing results have been inconsistent and rulings have been inconsistent not to mention that for the latest drugs there are not tests. Measurements between samples A and B have varied and athletes have escaped detection with designer drugs and recently Gasquet was let off the hook after testing positive for cocaine because he claimed that he had kissed someone who had done cocaine. Which brings us to the problem of recreational drugs. Is WADA in it for the fairness of competition or as a drug Czar. Considering how intrusive it wishes to be it stands to reason that recreational drugs should not be tested for. There is the argument that in many routine jobs drug testing is routine. But it is never as intrusive. Also many of the legal drugs that can be obtained above the counter and are used routinely by many people set alarm bells ringing at WADA because of the unfairness of competition. On the other hand all experts agree that only the accidental or naive users will get caught with outright off the charts numbers in pre-scheduled tests. So to even try to catch the real culprits WADA has to resort to very intrusive procedures. Even then it has been made to look silly where athletes used banned substances for decades before getting caught. There are bound to be many that never got caught.

The privacy is an issue. Other athletes have complained about it. This also shows the the power of the BCCI. It is not the governing body but the BCCI that has decided what will be done. In this case it does have some valid reasons for objection, however, it is also clear that it will do as it pleases as it has done in other cases and the ICC has no power to oppose it. In this sense the ICC has not been able to protect the rights of the other smaller boards against the might of the BCCI.

The Brash and the Frustrated

You did not have to watch the match or the series. All you had to do was look at the faces to know what had happened. Nasir Jamshaid wore the expression of a man who did not believe he should be out there. Aamer wore a layer of frustration on his face thicker than the sun screen he uses. Younis was irritated as was Naved. The only Pakistani who seemed to be having some fun in the stadium was Rameez who has been getting some swing and bounce from someone in the crowd and has dealt with it more deftly than the players have handled it from the Sri Lankan bowlers. By contrast, and surprisingly, Muralitharan was giving Afridi and co send offs and questioning overthrows. Sangakara too brashly told off Razzaq what was he doing running for overthrows when the ball had hit his bloody foot. Sportsmanship is all good and fair and it was fine to give back the run but Razzaq was almost sheepish.

Sigh No More Mendis

The Pakistanis are making Kulasekera and Thushera look like the second and third coming of McGrath. Apart from what they have done against Pakistan they have not done much. True that they are relatively new but it is hard to believe that lightening has struck twice at once. Only time will tell. At this point one has to bet on the side of this being another case of Balaji, Harris or Herath. For one the Pakistanis can't seem to bring down the bat straight and when they can manage a bit of stay, runouts are the order of the proceedings. Suddenly, Afridi and Razzaq lack the power to take the leather off the ball. The history of the Pakistani batsmen falling to mediocre bowlers while tackling the better ones with relative ease is long. One is reminded of Malik showing the way on handling Warne (Though Warne did wreak havoc against later sides) and even as weak as the Pakistani batting has been it has done reasonably against Muralitharan. So Mendis should not lose hope.

All Time XI for Pakistan

Well since cricinfo is doing these here it is for Pakistan. Well its actually more than eleven depending on the opposition, pitch and conditions (Tests).

Openers:
Saeed Anwar
Hanif Mohamad
There are really no other choices for openers.

The rest of the batsmen choose from
Zaheer Abbas (In English conditions),
Miandad
Wasim Raja (Against mostly pace attacks besides with the other players of spin and grafters in there one risky batsman may be ok. Liked a challenge and did well against pace and under trying conditions when others fell.)
Inzamam
Salim Malik
Mohamad Yousuf

If one wants to go with a four man pace attack this is as competitive as any with almost all having the ability to bowl long spells and covering a large variety of pace bowling.
Imran Khan
Wasim Akram
Waqar Younis
Fazal Mahmood

Wasim Bari (with the other batsmen and all rounders he can be in there purely for the keeping)

Spinners
Iqbal Qasim (Left arm)
Saqlain (Right arm)
Qadir
Mushtaq

For All the TV Umpires

Once they have actually seen the incident here are some guidelines to go by when judging a low catch.
1. Look for the bounce.
2. Look for the shadow.
3. Look for blades of grass in "front" of the ball.
4. Look at the position of all ten fingers.
5. Look for other markers in the video that may give a clue as to how low the ball is.

A ground level camera in the stumps facing the slips and the keeper would be nice to have.

My Very Brief Career as a Hand Model

Or foreshortening ...

Change the Ball Lads, Change the Ball

If at first it does not swing change the ball and try again. Replace and repeat is emerging as an effective strategy in the current series. Now only if Inzamam had thought this up at the Oval. Change the ball? No problem. We will be coming back with a request of our own soon ... if the ball does not do much. Imran once mentioned that Sarfraz had the ability to pick a new ball that more often than not would reverse. Which brings us to the question of ball manufacturing and what can be done to make balls more consistent. But first they will have to identify the features in a new ball that predict later behavior and oh before that ... make balls that don't go out of shape after 3 overs consistently.

The Savior of Test Cricket

The phrases praising test cricket and hailing the Pakistan-Sri Lanka matches as shining examples of this were reported more frequently on the cricinfo commentary than the wickets falling during a Pakistani collapse. It got somewhat annoying. Then there was Younis arguing the exact opposite; that in fact it was the lack of test cricket that had led to such misery. Both were somewhat off the mark. The Pakistanis have been doing this act for a few generations. Intikhab must have woken up in the middle of a night in a cold sweat believing the year to be 1973. To the fans of these matches I would say," C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas le test match cricket."

But if you are a believer then all the boards should be pencilling in PCB for as many dances as they can on their dance cards otherwise known as the FTP.

Foreshortening Doesn't Make the Ball Bounce on the Ground

Anyway without getting too much into it the solution is simple. Ideally it would be great to watch from below ground level whether the ball bounced but since we are not quite there yet the next best thing would be to put wide angle cameras at the base of the stumps facing the keeper and slips. Of course there is also the side on view that does not cause any "foreshortening".

Strauss may make himself believe that he caught the ball but in this case it was pretty clear he did not, foreshortening or not. He is almost picking it up off the ground being almost careful not to touch the ground as he does so.

There is no way the umpires could have judged it in real time. It was stubbornness or idiocy not to refer it not to mention inconsistency. All the while the proponent of the fielders' word was not so sure about the fielders' word.

Consider the Dilshan

Before the helmet ...

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=A5IQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2ZADAAAAIBAJ&pg=2601,185950

Deja vu for Alam

Before there was the internet :)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19730104&id=BJIQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2ZADAAAAIBAJ&pg=5494,478377

And an Alam did his part this time around too.
And opening still a problem.
And the runouts.

Hair to the Rescue

Umpire Hair take a look.
You always know who's the crook.

This is the glove that Jimmy wore.
That's a juice mark not his gore.
Was it a spill or did he pour?

Can you please let us know:
Should we kill or let 'im go?

PCBs Bad Idea

Well its not even PCBs original idea but why would you want to run cricket with a quota based selection committee. There is enough evidence presently available to indicate it is not such a good idea to begin with.
http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/international-cricket/news/detail/item288870/Hanif-writes-to-President-Zardari/

http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/414057.html

At least Iqbal Qasim, Jaffer and Iyas are there but quota based systems lead to more divisiveness. There were no ethnic problems in Pakistan cricket so why introduce it? There is no sense in it.

An Innings Reminescent of Miandad

Alam paced his innings really well and scored at a healthy rate without relying on the boundaries in any substantial way and he did it in a pressure filled situation from a position that was not his own. Plus a century on debut.

The morning sessions have been devastating in this match as well as in the first test. Pakistan better be careful in the morning.

This is how the odds fluctuated as the match went on.

1. Pakistan 14/0 second innings
Sri Lanka 2/9 = 0.818
Pakistan 3/1 = 0.25
Draw 16/1 = 0.059
Total = 1.127

Normalized
SL = 0.726
P = 0.222
D = 0.052

2. At tea 61/0
Sri Lanka 8/13 = 0.619
Pakistan 6/4 = 0.4
Draw 10/1 = 0.091

Total = 1.110
Normalized
SL = 0.558
P = 0.360
D = 0.082

3. After over 26 (first wicket down)
Sri Lanka 4/7
Pakistan 7/4
Draw 8/1

4. After 36 overs
Sri Lanka 8/11
Pakistan 6/4
Draw 7/1

5. scores even
Sri Lanka 5/4
Pakistan evens
Draw 5/1
Pakistan moves ahead on the odds.

6. end of day 2
Sri Lanka 13/8
Pakistan evens
Draw 7/2

Doe Lakrharay

BCCI Preparations

How the world cup was won ... and almost lost

quotes from Shahryar and Shashi Tharoor book:
The deadline to submit the required data to the International Cricket Council was in March 2006 but it had to be extended to April 21 as four Asian nations India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were still to be ready with their documents.
"...in January 2006, the four Asian representatives gathered in New Delhi to finalise our joint bid for the 2011 World Cup. The last date for the bid was a few days after our New Delhi meeting. To my horror, the BCCI had not completed its preparation for our joint bid which entailed filling detailed and copious forms that ICC had sent out to all the countries bidding for the World Cup," he wrote in the 'Shadows across the playing field', co-authored by United Nations Under-Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor.
"There was consternation in ranks when we -- Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan -- pointed out that our joint bid was bound to hit the rocks because India had not remotely completed the data required by the ICC," he said.
Mr. Shaharyar noted that the then newly appointed BCCI President Sharad Pawar ordered Board Secretary Niranjan Shah to complete the work by keeping him awake a whole night.
"Sharad Pawar was naturally deeply upset to learn of this potential disaster and ordered his secretary Niranjan Shah to sit up all night with his South Asian colleagues to complete the data."
But the task could not be completed, Mr. Shaharyar was told by his chief executive Saleem Altaf when inquired.
"We sat up with Niranjan Shah till 3 am but then the effort collapsed because Indian Board simply did not have the factual data at hand. I am afraid our bid will be found non-compliant in Dubai," Altaf told Mr. Shaharyar.
The 75-year-old former army man said Asia's prestige was at stake because of India's tardiness, which he blamed on the absence of a proper BCCI office and paid staffs.
"This was a serious blow and was certain to affect Asia's prestige in the cricket word individually and collectively.
"India's non-compliance was, in my opinion, due to the fact that the BCCI had no permanent headquarters, no secretariat and no paid officials performing BCCI's daily work. This was a stage omission... for the most powerful cricketing nation in the world not to have this basic structure seemed bizarre," he said.
Mr. Shaharyar also revealed how the co-bidders bought time from the ICC by stating failure of previous BCCI regime led by Jagmohan Dalmiya in not passing on the required documents.
"Our presentation was almost certainly going to be found non-compliant leaving the field to Australia-New Zealand. I suggested that at the board meeting we plead for a brief extension on the grounds that India's new board had recently taken over and had not been conveyed the documentation by the previous board for the proper compilation of the Asia's bid," he said.
"Sharad Pawar moved immediately to prepare the ground...he went up to Ray Mali and Peter Chingoka and engaged them in deep conversation... At the Executive Board meeting, he made a persuasive plea to be allowed a brief extension," he added.
The former PCB President explained how India and Pakistan, which unfortunately will not host any 2011 WC matches owing to the unrest in the country, then combined to turn things in their favour.
"India and Pakistan had declined to take part (in Twenty20 World Cup)... but one month later Sharad Pawar and I decided to withdraw our objection, especially as South Africa was to host the championships. It led to firming up of African and West Indian commitment to Asia holding the World Cup in 2011, with Australia and New Zealand being alloted the 2015 World Cup," he said.
"This diplomatic exercises had led to India and Pakistan closely co-ordinating their strategy to gain the World Cup 2011," he added.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200907091452.htm

Show me your cause

An excerpt from the PCB FAQ ...

Q. What is the fravorite pastime of PCB officials?
A. Sending each other Show Cause Notices.

BCCI Cowers

No it was not the ICC or any court it was that other powerful cricketing force the Shiv Sena. The Deodhar trophy is back on courtesy of Shiv Sena.
http://cricketnext.in.com/news/deodhar-back-on-dates-to-be-out-soon/42238-13.html

BCCI says it was done to avoid the dissolution of concept ... the concept being the IPL. At least this time the concept is concrete.

BCCI Positions

BCCIs recent spate of decisions and comments have thrown some light on where it wishes to take the game and what are the factors that influence it. It would be instructive to take a look at five of its recent policy statements or actions.

1. Flouts the ICC by not inviting PCB to the world cup organizing committee meetings. This is after it forced its agenda through at the ICC. It is not even following the ICCs (own) decision.

2. Turns protectionist by recommending that foreign players be eliminated from its domestic cricket.

http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/413286.html

3. While it may dictate ICC positions and still not listen to ICC it is all ears to Shiv Sena. Would this be termed giving into terrorism?

http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/BCCI-to-reconsider-Deodhar-Trophys-fate-after-Sena-threats/articleshow/4738283.cms

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/sports/07/04/indian-party-threatens-ipl-games-over-domestic-event/

Bal Thakaray was able to stop games in India before by threatening BCCI with dire consequences for holding them. If this is what the BCCI gives in to how does it expect to hold the world cup matches if certain elements from within might not want it to hold certain games.

4. Does not include Pakistan or Bangladesh on its FTP draft in essence taking a stance harder than any of the two governments involved. Indo-Pak relations go through their ups and downs but the governments have not banned the "other side" from visiting and even when they have restricted their own teams it is on a case by case basis. The relationship has its swings but even the governments have never gone on to plan the exclusion of the other side over decades which is essentially what the BCCIs FTP draft effectively plans to do. No this has more to do with the BCCIs monopolistic attitude than its stated excuse of the deteriorating relationship between the two governments. It has more to do with keeping what it considers its satellite boards in orbit around it.

5. The level of discourse it has shown by coming up with the dilution of concept. Who is the great thinker who suffered the great pangs of the dilation of conception for this masterpiece?

Points 2 and 4 together infact show that BCCI is not interested in the expansion of the game which is the one of the stated ambitions of the ICC. It is a continuation of the MCC thinking of the past. It seeks to monoplize power at the expense of expansion.

This is a contest of the haves and have-nots or what the PCB calls the cartel of the big four against the smaller boards. I had written in January that this is where things are headed.
http://voiceandview.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-old-fashioned-divide.html

On the Fourth Day Pakistan Created Collapse

continues from
http://voiceandview.blogspot.com/2009/07/match-so-far.html


To continue ...

13. Day 4: Pakistan could do little right. Sri Lankan bowlers stuck to excellent lines and made the ball do just enough and not too much. McGrathish I suppose but certainly did not look as devastating as the batsmen made it look. The way they went on playing and missing it looked like even another five batsmen would not be enough. Yousuf's was a curious out. Almost as if he was seeing the ball where it was not. Can't blame Butt for trying to take pressure off by scoring but again what he can be blamed for is his shot selection. Misbah was the worst. He yet again found a way to get out unnecessarily. He is starting to get a bit of a reputation for these in tight spots. However, the way he was playing and missing it probably took him out of his misery.
14. If Muralitharan is fit Sri Lanka will have a selection dilemma on their hands ... well maybe not until we see the pitch.
15. Pakistan's opening and batting brittleness remain the problems. It will be hard to fix either through selection since they have no other openers on tour and probably the current guys should get the rest of the series to make a claim but things seem to be opening up for the second coming of Imran Nazir.
16. Pakistan's attack did well but it will be too much to expect from a 17 year old to perform consistently at a very high level. The rest of the attack is too new as well. Gul will have to show up if Pakistan are to have a chance to make some reverses.
17. Things to ponder for Younis. The weaknesses were the transition game. At certain points the Pakistanis did not have a clear idea of what they should be aiming for. This led to not being able to drive the advantage through at key moments. Fielding is a problem but it always has been and its not going to be fixed in the next few days. Above all it will test him as a leader of men. He has been a clever tactician on the field and has been strategically sound and has developed his plans well but such a loss can devastate you long enough for the series to be over. He has to get his team back on its feet. He should also give up that line about being slow starters. First in this case it made no sense. Second it starts to sound like an excuse and losing early starts to be an expectation which may be fine for the fans but not the players themselves. It would be interesting if he makes any changes but one looks very unlikely given that he has no other openers out there and rest of the batsmen all did something in the first innings and nothing in the second except of course for himself. In tests it is highly unlikely that he would open with Akmal and opt to drop an opener since it is too much burden for the keeper. It would however give him an option to try Alam down the order. Unlikely though that he will go that far. Depending on the wicket Kaneria may or may not come into it at the cost of Rauf but again probably unlikely. He may choose to show confidence in the players and stick to his team here.

Pakistan Unfirl Another Fast Bowler

Younis Khan.
18 of the twenty wickets fell to four bowlers who had combined to take 2 wickets in test cricket prior to this match. So in that sense Younis was the most experienced bowler of the set.
To boot played night watchmen in both innings, once successfully.

The Match so Far

Interesting match so far ...
1. Younis takes the brave route of batting second on a subcontinental pitch but a very good pitch for anywhere.
2. Pakistan start strongly by getting a couple of early wickets.
3. They give up the early gains by a couple of lousy attempts at catching. The drop by Akmal was specially horrendous.
4. Younis springs a surprise by bringing himself on and regaining the momentum.
5. The momentum is somewhat dissipated by the continued attempts at catching but not catching.
6. Pakistan do well to restrict Sri Lanka to a reasonable score. the check on extras conceded was impressive.
7. Their openers give it up before the day is done (specially Butt). And that was just the first day. 8. Pakistan overhaul the Sri Lankan score with some batting left (5 wickets were down but one was a night watchman).
9. They give up the advantage with two run outs when they could have pushed the advantage through.
10. The only thing which seems up to this point that was in Sri Lanka's control (and where they faltered) was the extras they conceded. A fair portion of the lead came from them.
11. Day 3 Pakistan did little wrong. Somewhat worrying would be Gul's loss of rhythm and Younis's batting. For SL batting is the worry. So Pakistan have set themselves up well. Can they make the final push without faltering this time? This has been their weakness in this match (and in recent years; letting opportunities slide when in control. Hopefully other pitches will be similar.
12. The umpiring has been questionable (some good decisions too). It hasn't been an issue because the teams are on good terms with each other; the bad decisions have gone both ways and probably affected both sides similarly; the match has not gone into a real tight situation yet.

The Tale of Two Loggers

PCB Implosions

With the sacking of the selectors and internal investigations and infighting it will be very hard for PCB to keep its focus on the worldcup issue. Further Butt seems to be dealing with everything. They should get some other people out on the ground. With money issues compounding factors it looks like a bumpy ride even if the bridge is not already out.

ICC Must Ensure Complete Transparency and Impartiality

ICC must ensure the neutrality of the Disputes Resolution Committee and the process should be transparent in who is on the committee, how they got there, What is the scope of their juridiction (is it very limited or broad), What did they consider and what was the ruling.

Next Stop: Disputes Resolution Committee

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=Cricket&id=19538a73-8b75-4ad0-a923-85924618d163&Headline=PCB+pins+hope+on+ICC+committee+to+get+WC+hosting+rights



I was trying to find out about the ICC Disputes Resolution Committee and who is on it but the ICC Committees page (http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/the-icc/about_the_organisation/icc_committees.php) does not list this committee.



May be it is only constituted when a dispute arises.



Under the ICC Departments page (http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/the-icc/about_the_organisation/icc_departments.php) it says that The Legal Department handles dispute resolution. I don't know whether it is the same thing.



A search for the Disputes Resolution Committee on the ICC page leads to icc-cricket.yahoo.net/pdfs/disputes-resolution-committee.pdf but for now this page is not working.

Dramatis Personae

The BCCI The Dark Lord Sauron
The MCC Saruman the White
PCB The Hobbits
Lalit Modi Gollum (My precious)
ICC Nasquool
Mani Gandalf the Gray
Ejaz Butt Samwise
Younis Khan Aragorn
Afridi Legolas
Pawar The Orc commander
Mohammad Aamer Frodo

Conversations With BCCI Supporters ... if you can call them that

You may find these interesting

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.cricket/browse_frm/thread/b63c0d74dc8919a4/86f05d73a41dc889?hl=en#86f05d73a41dc889

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.cricket/browse_frm/thread/a736b572e11b4670/2ff440ed2e284022?hl=en#2ff440ed2e284022

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.cricket/browse_frm/thread/f8daa5d14a413228/4475084be6dc0b3e?hl=en#4475084be6dc0b3e