Bobji, Author at Cricket Critique

Two tier Test system

Posted on 18 January 202518 January 2025 by Bobji

There has been growing talk about having a two tier Test system. Does it make sense? Is it viable? Will it sustain interest in the game? Will lesser teams benefit from such a system? Can the game itself survive a two tier Test system? Are some boards greedy for more money? Well, there are lots and lots of questions and no clear answer. According to the Australian newspaper, The Age, the ICC is already considering a two tier system with India, Australia, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand will form tier 1 whereas, West Indies, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe will form tier 2. The report does not mention whether promotion and relegation is being considered by the ICC. It is said that the new ICC chairman, Jay Shah, is at the forefront of this change.

There are takers for this change. Most notably, Michael Vaughan and Ravi Shastri. Former England captain Michael Vaughan posted on X, external saying it “has to happen” while former India coach Ravi Shastri told SEN Radio “the best playing the best is needed for Test cricket to survive”.

It is not a secret that Test cricket is in the deathbed. Outside of India, Australia and England, people hardly watch Test cricket in other countries. They may follow the game on social media and probably just the scores on websites like espncricinfo.com. It is of no consequence either to the home board or to the ICC. These do not generate the kind of revenue that is needed to sustain the game for a very longtime. Test cricket is in dire need of new idea and a new direction. Eventhen, one can only hope that it will survive.

Test cricket must sustain itself. It cannot depend on its younger siblings for support.

Lots and lots of leagues

The mushrooming of T20 leagues throughout the world, with little known UAE too joining the bandwagon, more and more players are forced to shun their central contracts. New Zealand is the worst affected with a lot of players choosing to become freelancers. From the players perspective, they have got to do what they have to do to sustain a living and to take care of a family. Already, we have witnessed a great reduction in the number of ODIs. There were years when India used to participate in more than 35 ODIs in a year. Same with Australia, England and so many other nations. In 2023 & 2024, the teams did not participate in more than 15 games. T20s saw a gradual increase but it is the leagues that grabbed most of the limelight.

Players throughout the world flocked to these leagues. The UAE T10 allows as many as 9 foreign players per team and the pay is also quite healthy. I can also foresee Saudi Arabia entering into the fray in the near future. UAE atleast has a semblance of a cricket team. Saudi Arabia does not have any and they may very well allow all the 11 players to be foreigners. Going by the yardstick of Messi, though the cricketers are unlikely to be paid that exorbitant fees, they will still be adequately compensated. In most case, more than their boards can manage.

Promotion and relegation

One school of thought is to promote the concept of promotion and relegation whereby the bottom placed teams and the top placed teams in both the groups will swap their spots. This will the likes of Afghanistan and Ireland to move up the ladder. However, the question is, what will be the frequency of such movement? If it is every year, you may have a scenario like in 2024, where India lost so many Tests that they would have been relegated to division 2. They will be forced to be in that group until the next cycle. Can the other boards afford for India to be relegated? Every board in division 1 depends on the money that India generates. If this is in force, India will have to be an exception. Whatever happens, India will never be relegated. Will the other boards and players accept this? Highly unlikely.

Will a two tier system increase interest?

Yes and no. There will be a lot more games between the top teams. England, Australia and India will want to play more Tests amongst themselves. It will be exciting initially but the novelty will wear off eventually. The teams will be sick of each other and so will the players be. The spectators will become so wary that wins and losses will not matter. Having 7 teams in Division 1 will allay some of that but India do not play Pakistan for obvious reasons. Having said that, I for one, do not know whether it is good or bad for the game but it is an idea that is worth trying.

Opposition to the idea

“A two-tier system makes sense, but space must be made for top nations to tour those in the lower bracket, or smaller nations will disappear,” warned West Indies fast-bowling legend Michael Holding.

I think it will be terrible for all those countries who worked so hard to achieve Test status. Now they’ll be relegated to playing among themselves in the lower section. How will they reach the top? (Only) by playing against better teams,” said Clive Lloyd.

Every critique must understand that cricket in general and Test cricket in particular is and will never be a mass nation sport. It is a complicated game that most of the world will not want to understand. In this day and age, not many have the time to sit through hours and hours just for a game. This is the case even in the established countries. What chances does the game have in new countries? The best case scenario is to restrict the number of teams to about 14 and be done with it.

Wrapping up two tier Test system

Though it is a novel idea, serious thought must be put into it before embarking on an unknown destination.

2024 for New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan

Posted on 18 January 202518 January 2025 by Bobji

These teams, New Zealand, Sri Lanka & Pakistan are among those teams which will be cared as an after-thought. All of them are struggling with severe cash crunch with Pakistan slightly better off. There are limited takers for a series involving two of these teams. Not until they are against one of the big 4, India, Australia, England and South Africa, does the series carry any reasonable volume of viewership. These teams operate under tremendous stress. New Zealand is one team in the group that have always punched above their weight. For their credit, they already have a couple of ICC trophies with a Test title that the other two teams does not possess. How was 2024 for New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan.

New Zealand

If not for anyone, 2024 was perhaps the greatest year in New Zealand cricket. They have won series in England, Australia and India but the cleansweep of India will be unparalleled. What was a dismal year until then, suddenly became a brilliant one. It took them just 9 days to inflict a wound upon India which will not be forgotten by every Indian supporter. This was a runaway high of the season. The closest that could come to this tremendous achievement was their title win at the inaugural WTC.

“I think there’d be not many pundits around the world [who] would say that you would go to India and win 3-0 and probably deep down, I’m not sure if we even believed that it was possible ourselves to do this, considering it’s never been done in history before,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said.

From 1955, New Zealand have only two wins in India which quickly ballooned to 5 in a matter of weeks.

In the end, normal service resumed with England inflicting severe thrashing in their own country. The 323-run drubbing at Wellington was their worst defeat at home in terms of margin of runs. Earlier in the year, they failed to qualify for the knockouts.

Quite a few players relinquished their central contracts for greener pastures. Williamson, Conway, Ferguson, Milne and Finn Allen became freelance cricketers. They cannot be grudged because playing for New Zealand, they do not get to earn a good amount. They have a family to take care of.

Overall, it has been a dismal year brightened only by the sweep of India.

Pakistan

As for Pakistan, they are not sure what they want to do with Test cricket. The crowds simply are not interested to watch Test cricket. The empty stadiums in Pakistan was quite dismal to look at. If the stadiums are empty, the performances of their cricketers did not inspire much confidence either. The worst came against Bangladesh. It is natural for any team to lose a game but Bangladesh, immediately after that win, were quite dismal themselves in India. How did Pakistan manage to lose a series to them? They hurled from one disaster to another when they were again annihilated in South Africa. Pakistan will have to take Test cricket seriously for them to remain a force. That they are not doing so can be ascertained from the fact that their premier bowler, Shaheen Afridi, chose to skip the South African series in favour of the Champions Trophy.

Even in the T20 World Cup, their performance was poor to say the least. They even managed to lose a game to USA.

Rather surprisingly, they still had one thing to cheer. The series win against England. Finally, Pakistan found the formula to defeat England. They were lurking in the dark during the previous tour and in the first Test.

Sri Lanka

The year can be termed as decent. They won their first ODI series against India after 27 years which was followed by series wins in Bangladesh away and New Zealand at home. However, the best moment came when they defeat England in the 3^rd Test with a four pronged pace attack. It must be said that Sri Lanka are slowly building a nucleus.

Wrapping up 2024 for New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan

Not much to write about here.

https://icricketcritique.com/2024-for-australia/
https://icricketcritique.com/2024-for-south-africa/
https://icricketcritique.com/2024-for-england/

2024 for England

Posted on 18 January 202518 January 2025 by Bobji

It was bit of a confusing year for England. As is their wont, they were involved in the most number of Tests during the year. 17 of them with wins and defeats almost shared. Some of those losses were thumping enough to consider changes to the personnel, whereas there were some memorable wins too. The high of 2022-2023, when England reeled off wins after wins, on the back of Bazball, 2024 wasn’t that great a year for England. Nevertheless, it was a year that could neither be defined as excellent nor be defined as threadbare. There were successes and there were failures in equal measure. The white-ball team, a format that England redefined not long ago, suffered a lot during the year with several reversals. How was 2024 for England?

The year started off with great expectations on England. Afterall, about a year ago, they thumped Pakistan in Pakistan 3-0. It was an unprecedented result from an England side that have traditionally struggled against Pakistan. More than the win, the manner of the victories were significant. In every Test, England notched up mountain full of runs and at a very quick rate. Pakistan were neither able to stop the flow or runs nor were they able to pick up wickets regularly. The comprehensive manner of those wins, increased the confidence of the England cricketers but they were still wary of touring India. The innumerable number of reverses in India from 1990s, has sort of dent their confidence seriously that an Indian tour is considered among the toughest alongwith a tour of Australia.

Low of the season

True to what they feared, they were annihilated in 4 Tests. In the final innings, none of the players even wanted to be in India and they would rather go back to England. Such was the manner of their surrender in the final innings. Whatever that could go wrong, went wrong. The lack of effective spinners was dearly felt. England knew that spin will play a major part in the series. Yet, they chose to bring along cricketers who hardly have played any decent amount of cricket. Shoaib Bashir who may have some potential was among those who were expected to contain the Indian batsmen. His first class experience is not that different from his international experience. On what basis did Stokes picked him is beyond anyone’s wildest dream, afterall, his first class average is close to 50.

He is 21 and has time and age on his side. He can learn and he can improve but that must be at the County level and not at the international level.

Yes, England somehow managed to win the first Test on the back of a freakish Pope hundred. India were clueless in that game against a sweeping and reverse-sweeping Pope. It reminded all of us who bore witness to the sad day in the 1987 World Cup semi-final where Gooch swept the Indian spinners out of the tournament.

Nonetheless, that innings proved to be a flash in the pan. India adjusted themselves and ran over England in the remaining with the sole exception of the 3^rd Test where an excellent innings from the debutant, Dhruv Jurel, stood between England and a win.

England’s inability to comprehend slow and turning pitches

Careers completed

McCullum did the right thing to talk to Anderson and make him announce his retirement. It was wrong on the part of Anderson to continue playing when everyone knows that he is not the same bowler. He might still pick up wickets on those England pitches if the overhead conditions complement his bowling but later this year in Australia, he would have been found wanting in all aspects regarding bowling. England would have been forced to drop Anderson in Australia. He avoided that ignominy.

The success of Bethell and Smith denotes that the days of Bairstow and possibly Foakes is also finished. It is unfortunate that Foakes has been judged on his ability to score runs rather than his brilliant keeping but that is how the modern day game is. Pure wicket-keepers are a thing of the past.

High of the season

Some may point to the win against India against all-odds but I think the series win in New Zealand was the high of the season. Sure England were expected to win but they absolutely streamrolled New Zealand into submission. England walked in like a Gladiator and walked out of it a clear winner. The last Test defeat was just an aberration.

Best performer of the season

Undoubtedly, it is Joe Root. He has been in such a freakish form over the last 4 years that he break records easily. He is certainly inline to break Tendulkar’s all-time record of the highest runs. About 3000 runs to go. Similar couple of years, he will get there rather sooner than later. Root has definitely let his fellow the so called Fab-4 by the wayside. In 4 years, he has scored 19 hundreds, the most by any batsman. This is simply unheard of. However, his lack of runs in some decisive games, against Pakistan and New Zealand will rankle him.

Ben Duckett is another who though not in the same sphere of Root, had a fabulous year. He became the first England opener since Alastair Cook in 2016, to score more than 1000 runs in a calendar year. In the absence of Bairstow, Duckett has taken the torch of Bazball further.

Poor performer of the season

Zak Crawley. He has been persisted with for far too long. Just like Shubman Gill, he has mostly flattered to deceive. Crawley has not reached 30 in the last 10 innings. That is an alarming statistic. He has the support of McCullum but how long will that continue? Crawley needs to gather himself and begin to score runs. India will be a good opportunity if he could survive Bumrah.

Wrapping up 2024 for England

2024 is done. 2025 has got a lot instore for England. Two vital series with the one in Australia being much more important for every English. With the turmoil facing India, England must prevail over India quite easily.

Australia & South Africa

2024 for South Africa

Posted on 18 January 202518 January 2025 by Bobji

In what turned out to be a remarkable year for South Africa, they were at the end of both ecstasy and despair in the same year. South Africa achieved a lot in 2024 but just could not go onto that elusive title win. Eversince they came back into the fold, despite possessing some of the great bowlers and great batsmen, South Africa were denied the ICC Trophy all along. Several campaigns ended in several heartburns. Though the last year wasn’t that different it was somewhat different in many ways. The year also saw the South African board prioritise their own T20 league over Test match cricket. 2024 for South Africa turned out to be a year during which the highs were more than the lows. Any South African supporter, will be proud of what their team achieved in 2024.

Since the retirement of some of the greats of the game, Smith, Kallis, Steyn, Amla, de Villiers, South African cricket wee never really able to replace these players with players of the same calibre or a better one. These retirements left a huge void in the team that it was literally impossible to replace them. South Africa dominated the game for about 8 years in the early part of this millennium. They are the only team to beat Australia in Australia on three successive occasions. Yet, they are also the only team, among the top nations in the world, without a World Cup victory. Anyway, this blog is about how the year 2024 for South Africa went.

The beginning of the year

They started the year with a defeat to India at Newlands. This was a Test that will be remembered for a very longtime because it was done and dusted in a couple of days. It was probably the worst surface where a Test match between top teams could have been played. What followed was even more stunning. Cricket South Africa, decided to send a team of makeshift players to New Zealand.

Cricket South Africa, unlike their counterparts in India or England or Australia is not awash with money. They are a struggling board who finds it difficult to pay the bills. An Indian tour has always been their saviour. It is understandable if Cricket South Africa decided to give less priority to Test and more to white-ball cricket. Afterall, it is ODIs and T20s that sells in that country. For a cash strapped board, the income that these games generate is much more valuable. Test cricket is slowly and definitely losing its appeal across the board. Hardly anyone watches Test cricket outside of The Big 3. South Africa is not an exception. What however surprised everyone was the South African team to New Zealand. It is rare to see 7-8 debutants in the same Test. Not unless if it was the nation’s first Test.

Only challenge

South Africa selected a severely under-strength and as expected, lost the series 0-2. It was a calculated gamble. They knew that they needed their main players for SA20 to satisfy the sponsors and the franchises. At the back of their mind, they also knew that the schedule favoured them with a lone exception in Bangladesh. It is amazing to realise that their biggest challenge of the cycle was the away tour of Bangladesh because South Africa have not been having a solid tour of the sub-continent for more than 5 years.

They realised that they will win in West Indies and a couple of home series in the offing, the board and the team management took a huge gamble against New Zealand. The result, South Africa lost their first ever series to New Zealand. Though it cannot be called as a brave call, the demands of the situation made CSA take such drastic measures.

High of the season

Certainly, the victory against Pakistan that ensured their qualification for the WTC Finals at Lord’s in 2025. The joyous scenes at the end of the game, clearly showed what it meant for them. It must be remembered that South Africa have never qualified for the finals of any Cricket World Cup until 2024. Suddenly, within the space of 6 months, have did that twice. Pakistan and Sri Lanka were never expected to scare them but the sweep of the summer with 4 wins is something the team led by Temba Bavuma will remember.

South African pitch curators must resist from preparing pitches that favour their fast bowlers overly. Just like how India prepares turning tracks, which narrows the gap between the Indian spinners and the spinners from the opposition, the pitches in South Africa narrows the gap between their fast bowlers and the fast bowlers of the opponents. The curator somewhat rectified that against Pakistan in the 2^nd Test in which the batsmen for once, piled on the runs to the tune of more than 600 runs. In the end, they won because of their superior bowling attack.

Low of the season

The heartbreak against India at the T20 World Cup. Never before has a South African team reached the finals of a World Cup. At the West Indies, they were about the make history but a brilliant spell by Bumrah stood between what could have been South Africa’s first World Cup victory.

Best performer of the season

Temba Bavuma. Eversince he made his debut, there were a lot of comments that the only reason he is in the team is because he is black. For several years, Bavuma proved them right. He couldn’t score runs and he couldn’t bowl either. To make matters worse, he even became the captain of the white-ball team with hardly a game to bludgeon the ball. All seems to have changed in 2024. Bavuma had the best year of his career so far. He is also developing if not a world-beating side, a tight unit that is capable of giving the higher ranked teams, a run for their money.

Wrapping up 2024 for South Africa

Can South Africa go one up and make 2025 as the best year since their readmission? They have a tough task against Australia who are a much better team than South Africa. Some or all of the South Africans must play in a few County games to prepare for the final.

2024 for Australiahttps://icricketcritique.com/2024-for-australia/

2024 for Australia

Posted on 18 January 202518 January 2025 by Bobji

Following on from the twin success in 2023, the WTC victory and the ODI World Cup victory, Australia in 2024 wasn’t that much different. Yes, they do not have any ICC trophy to showcase but that is only because there weren’t any. I mean, ofcourse, with the exception of the T20 World Cup. Australia are not yet a force in the shortest format. Who is to say that in the event of an ICC tournament in 2024, Test or ODI, Australia would not have won that one too? Australia have made it a habit of winning ICC tournaments for fun. Under Cummins, though they have not become all-conquering side, they have become a solid unit. Cummins himself leads from the front quite often. Even with the bat. Post captaincy, Cummins has become the hardest tailender to dismiss.

High of the season

The series win against India. They were crushed in the first Test at Perth. Questions were asked about certain players. Marsh, Labuschagne and Smith. There were calls to drop all of them. Though Marsh fell by the wayside, Labuschagne and Smith asserted themselves in an emphatic fashion. Labuschagne did not score a hundred but his innings at Melbourne where he protected Cummins from Bumrah was vital in Australia securing the win. Smith with a couple of hundreds.

After a gap of 10 years, Australia regained the Border Gavaskar Trophy, en event that the Australians themselves defined as among the greatest of their careers. It is understandable because this Australian team is many faultlines. It needed an Indian team with even more faultlines to perform so poorly that Australia never had to raise their game once. Nevetheless, in a season where the major attraction was the series against India and the T20 World Cup, winning the series against India must be counted as the high of the season.

Low of the season

It was undoubtedly, the shock defeat to the West Indies at the Gabba. One can say that Australia were too complacent against them. Having whitewashed Pakistan the previous week, Australia were expected to topple West Indies rather easily. This game has often proved that if you take things lightly, it will always comeback to bite you. This was what exactly happened with Australia too. On a ground where they did not lose a single Test for 39 years, suddenly has become where they have not won a Test in 4 years. 2021 loss to India followed by the loss to West Indies in 2024 and the drawn Test against India later in the year.

Steve Smith convinced himself and everyone else that he could open the innings. As he found out, he was a total misfit at that position. Just a sole score of more than 50 in over 10 innings. Better sense prevailed and Smith was back in the middle order from where he scored a couple of match-winning hundreds. After this, I don’t think Smith will ever open for Australia again. His place is in the middle-order and he better stick to it.

The failure to qualify for the knock-outs in the T20 World Cup will also rankle the Aussies. Cummins is not the captain of their T20 side. It is Mathew Wade. It is time to handover the captaincy of T20 to Cummins for him to conjure some magic.

Best Performer

Cummins ofcourse. Not just captaincy, but his contribution with the bat and ball is unparalleled in current scenario. If the top and middle order have collapsed, do not worry. Cummins is there to not just block one end but he will also score constantly. If there is a batsman at the otherend, Cummins will be at his dour best. Supporting him throughout. If the other bowlers are not able to pick up wickets or stem the flow of runs. Enter Cummins, the gladiator. Whenever and wherever Cummins has been called into action, to salvage the situation, he has delivered.

Captaincy has elevated his performance to greater heights. Infact, with a little bit of luck, he could have even won the IPL trophy last year. In a tournament where scores of 260 was the norm, Cummins was quite economical.

Worst Performer

Khawaja, Smith, Labuschagne, Marsh. Smith and Labuschagne were able to turnaround their fortune. It can be safely assumed that if Australia had lost the series to India, all of 4 would have been dropped. Ofcourse, Marsh was still dropped and replaced by someone who could be a vital cog in the wheel for Australia in the near and slightly distant future. Beau Webster has taken to the game like a fish to the water.

Wrapping up 2024 for Australia

Overall, 2024 has been a decent one for Australia in all forms of the game. The sore exception being the inability to reach the knockouts at the T20 World Cup. Otherwise, they have done quite well enough to be considered as the number one team among equals.

The BGT from Australian perspective

Posted on 18 January 202518 January 2025 by Bobji

Ofcourse, Australia are the happier side for they have won the series quite comfortably in the end after the initial wobble. Does it mean that it is all smooth and efficient within the Australian team? Far from it. Does it mean that they are the absolute unquestioned numero uno in the world? Well, they are number one based on the ICC rankings but they are certainly not the undisputed. The problems within the Australian team runs deeper. They are trying to cover the cracks with some timely introduction of fresh blood. The BGT has thrown more questions than answers for Australia. How was the BGT from Australian perspective?

Cummins has termed the victory as “unreal”. He is a captain, who has won quite a lot in his short career as the captain, the WTC finals win, the ODI 2023 World Cup win, retaining the Ashes in England, winning series in Pakistan. The list is endless. Yet, he says that the victory was unreal. It just shows what winning means for Cummins in particular and Australia in general. Victory defines Australian sport. It is ingrained in them from a very young age. Cummins has achieved so much despite not having the best of players. It says something about his leadership ability.

“Unreal. This was one that a few of us didn’t have,” Cummins said at the post-series presentation. “It’s been an amazing series. [We’re] immensely proud. We’ve spent a lot of time together as a group over the years, so we knew we weren’t at our best at Perth, but it was never as bad as it seems. So you stick tight and double down on what makes us a really good side.”

Positives for Australia

The Australian selectors have definitely unearthed a brilliant prospect in the form of Beau Webster. It is hard to fathom where and why was he being hidden from cricket for so long? Webster looks like someone who is a complete cricketer. Ofcourse, he is only one Test old but that one Test, on such a tricky pitch, he has shown what he is capable of. His batting was solid, something that cannot be said about the incumbent, Mitchell Marsh. His bowling was adequate and his fielding is top-class. For someone with a huge frame, his reflexes are pretty brilliant.

It takes a great deal of athleticism in the slips. Webster has that in abundance. Though he played only at Sydney, Webster was a standout performer for Australia. It was his contribution with the bat that determined the difference between a 2-2 verdict to 3-1 verdict. It can be safely assumed that Marsh has played his final Test match already once Cameroon Green comes back. If Australia feel the need for a specialist batsman, even Green’s spot could be in trouble. That was the impact Webster created in a single game.

Cummin’s captaincy. He is doing something that almost always succeeds. 3 years ago, Australian selectors stuck gold by naming Cummins as the captain.

Negatives for Australia

There were quite a few. For a start, Khawaja could be in for trouble. At 38, he is nearing the end of his career. Australia need a confident and run-making opening batsman for the Ashes series in 2025. Khawaja was all at sea in the series and became Bumrah’s bunny. England does not possess someone of the calibre of Bumrah and Australia are unlikely to offer similar surfaces if England travels with Stone, Archer, Atkinson and Carse.

“To be honest, I was just getting Bumrah-ed,” Khawaja told ABC Sport after Australia regained the BGT in Sydney. “It was friggin’ tough work. It was tough work. People were asking me ‘what’s going on?’ I’m being honest, I’m just getting Bumrah-ed.”

It was tough facing Bumrah on those surfaces but Labuschagne showed that wasn’t impossible. Khawaja was a sitting duck. It is a miracle that his position wasn’t changed even once during the series.

Hazlewood’s continued injury issues. Not long ago, Hazlewood could go on an entire series without breaking down. Now, he has often broken down which meant the successful bowling combination had to be constantly tweaked. One can say that Boland is on hand to take charge but Boland outside of Australia is a different proposition than Boland in Australia. In the last Ashes series, Boland was driven to all parts of the ground. His record in England is abysmal though the sample is too low. Australia need Hazlewood for battles outside of their homeland.

Konstas

I will not count Sam Konstas as a positive because of the way he carries himself on the field. He is the Kohli of Australia in terms of boorish on-field conduct. His batting does not look to be complete. If the ball hits the middle of the bat, unlucky bowler otherwise, Konstas could be had easily. They way he conducted himself on the field was highly irritating. Here is a kid who was brought up the wrong way. His parents were probably ashamed to see him on the field with such an arrogant attitude.

Wrapping up the BGT from Australian perspective

There was a needless controversy at the end of the series. Gavaskar wasn’t invited to present the Border Gavaskar Trophy to Cummins. This was insane, afterall, Gavaskar who was in Australia and whose name is part of the trophy, must have given away the trophy alongwith Border. Reports have emerged that CA told him that if India squared the series at Sydney, he will be invited. Otherwise, he will be ignored. I mean, how childish was it? How does an Indian win and Gavaskar invited for the ceremony be equated?

There were instances where Gavaskar alone gave away the trophy to Indian captains because during those series, Border did not travel to India. CA must know better than ignoring a legend.

BGT Blogs

https://icricketcritique.com/the-bgt-completed/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-bgt-negatives-for-india/

The BGT negatives for India

Posted on 18 January 202518 January 2025 by Bobji

Part one of BGT that focussed on the positives for India can be read here.

There were far too many that it is difficult to even count them in one hand. In hindsight, one wishes that perhaps, Rohit could have stayed at home and taken care of the second child. Since he returned, the team went from one disaster to another. He looked clueless to arrest the slide and his own batting did not inspire any confidence. Towards the end, he had to drop himself from the team because his confidence was shattered though people would like to portray that he was indeed dropped. Whatever it was. The fact is that he just does not fit into the first choice playing eleven. His best days are behind him as a Test cricketer. Perhaps, he can survive for a year in ODI cricket where the ball does not move and the pitches will be as flat as it can be.

Kohli is another who is a complete idiot. Just like Jaiswal, he did all the wrong things on the field but could not back it up with runs. As a result, he became a running joke and a walking wicket. Bowl outside the off, Kohli will certainly nick. In all the 9 innings, he got out in the same fashion which tells the fans that he is too arrogant and self-centred to change. The Australian media and the public had a wonderful time mocking Kohli. If you have not been scoring runs for 5 years, it is better to shut-up and concentrate on scoring runs rather than indulging in stupid mannerisms.

Both Kohli and Rohit, mainly Kohli, if they had any sense of shame, must have retired after Sydney. With the next series in England, it is difficult to see them score runs. Both of them had one good tour of England but nothing else.

Shubman Gill & Siraj

How many more chances do they need? Gill has not touched 40 in 4 years outside India. That is an alarming statistic. When one see Gill walk to the wicket, one can see a lazy, lethargic and uninterested fellow walking to the wicket who would like to be in one of the casinos rather than on the cricket field. Why then is he being persisted with for such a longtime? He must be told to learn the game at the Ranji level and not at the Test level. I do not know who is behind retaining Gill but he is doing a fabulous job.

Srikkanth castigated Gill on his YouTube channel.

“I’ve always maintained that Shubman Gill is an overrated cricketer, but nobody listened to me. He is a highly overrated cricketer,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.

I tend to agree with Srikkanth. More than 30 Tests is fair enough to judge a player. Gill hasn’t done anything worthy to be persisted with despite non-performance. Infact, Gill is a resource wasted. A position that was occupied by Dravid and by Pujara, is now occupied by an incompetent and untrustworthy Gill.

Badrinath, the former Tamil Nadu batsman was even more scathing in his attack.

“If this was Shubman Gill from Tamil Nadu, he would have been dropped.”

As for Siraj, the records will show that he took 20 wickets in 5 Tests. 4 per Test is not a bad return. Dig a little deeper, it will be stark. An average of 31, bowling on some of the fast bowling friendly pitches, if this was his performance, what can he achieve on pitches that do not carry this much help? 100 wickets in 36 Tests is less than 3 per Test. This is the Kohli standard of non-performance.

Where were the bowlers?

The bigger worry is that where are the bowlers? Apart from Bumrah, no one else even scare the batsmen. How is India going to survive? This is a real worrying part. In England, the pitches will be batting friendly. Leave alone 20, will India be able to take atleast 10 wickets? What is the BCCI doing? With billions in the bank and an never-ending stream of cricketers in the country, why is the BCCI unable to find several bowlers? This nation ideally must produce several fast bowlers who are better than Bumrah. The fault lies on the BCCI for wasting the resources.

Jadeja contributed in one innings but apart from that, he did not exist. His bowling is like a cannon fodder on pitches that do not spin. It probably is time to think of Jadeja as an India only cricketer. Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna will have to improve by leaps and bounds. They are nowhere near international bowling standard.

Indian cricket is in trouble

Indian cricket finds itself in a strife. If one were to decide who among the 18 players will definitely be on the flight to England, it is a dismal list. Jaiswal has shown what he is capable though the swing of England is a different proposition. However, it will be insane to drop him. Bumrah is another if he remains fit enough after 3 months of IPL. Nitish Reddy is the only seamer who can bat and he must be there. Rahul for his penchant for the SENA conditions. Pant for obvious reasons.

The rest are not automatic selection. This is a serious concern. Will the BCCI and the selectors act? If it is impossible to select 9-10 players from the current squad on the next tour, the fundamental part has broken down. No bowlers and no batsmen. This is an alarming situation for which the BCCI must be ashamed of. The richest board in the world with never ending stream of resources, cannot put together a squad that can win in England is embarrassing. Mohammed Shami’s graph has grown in his absence but I do not think that he would have made much difference. Shami often bowls magical deliveries that beats the bat regularly but it doesn’t end up in wickets.

Captaincy

I cannot term Bumrah as the find because he has been around for a longtime. However, it is time to think of Bumrah the captain or is it so? Bumrah is prone to major injuries. You cannot afford the captain to miss far too many games. At Sydney, Kohli became the captain on the last couple of days. Kohli, who had relinquished captaincy more than 4 years ago, suddenly found himself on the hot seat. It is not an ideal scenario.

I do not want to go back to Rohit. Perhaps, just perhaps, Ashwin could be persuaded to reverse his decision and become the captain with both Rohit and Kohli dropped from the England squad. Ashwin will not like it but if offered captaincy, as he must have been after Kohli, he could be made to acquiesce. Another option is Rahane. The BCCI must not make any of Gill, Pant or Rahul the captain. Gill must not even be considered for a few years until he shows real hunger.

Wrapping up the BGT negatives for India

The next part will cover Australia and few other things.

The BGT completed

Posted on 18 January 202518 January 2025 by Bobji

After about 1.5 months, another edition of the Border Gavaskar Trophy has been completed with Australia emerging victorious. Both the teams were mediocre to say the least because of quality of cricket was of low standard. Sure enough, the pitches were tough but a little bit of application would have made the series a much more enjoyable affair. However, neither team possess the sort of batsmen who are capable of overcoming the conditions and elevating himself to the higher echelons of the game. Smith and Head scored hundreds but they were interspersed with too many low scores. Same was the case with Jaiswal. With the BGT completed, it is time for introspection. Australia will be happier of the two sides because they have less reason to worry about.

Australia’s next Test will be the Sri Lankan series before the WTC final at Lord’s against South Africa. Based on past evidence, South Africa will have tough time to overcome the drought of ICC trophy. If at all there is one team that can defeat Australia in England, it is England and they have not qualified. More about that later but for now, it is time to reflect on the series that just finished.

Exceeded expectations?

Did India overachieve? One could say so, especially after the humiliation against New Zealand at home. Everyone before the start of the series, expected a thorough mauling. India were expected to lose 0-5. However, what transpired at Perth, surprised even the most die-hard fans of the team. However, things went downhill rather quickly from Perth. While Australia found someone to take charge whenever they found themselves at a spot of bother, India found none.

That was where the series was decided. This wasn’t a clash between the best teams in the world but between two teams who were equal in ability. It shows how the quality of the game has fallen. Is it because of the pitches that favour the bowlers a lot more than earlier? Or, is it a case of too much exposure to T20 which has scuttled the technique of the batsmen? One can never really know but one thing is certain. Test batting is not the same during the last several years.

Positives for India

Runs from the blade of Jaiswal. Prior to the start of the series, Jaiswal was talked about as someone who is yet to prove himself outside of India. He did play in a couple of Tests in South Africa but those pitches were spicier than anything Australia could have rolled. Australia was his litmus test. His reputation preceded his arrival in Australia. Nathan Lyon spoke to the England spinner Tom Hartley to understand Jaiswal. It is safe to assume that he came out of the series, even if not with flying colours, as someone who can be trusted to score runs on pitches were the ball bounces.

The twin 80s at Melbourne were better than the hundred at Perth. If not for that ill-judged single, he could have registered a second hundred for the series which would have been unprecedented. Jaiswal should have avoided the poke at Starc because he repeatedly fell to Starc afterwards. It is onething to talk something to the opposition but if you get out to the same bowler, it will make you look foolish. Nevertheless, Jaiswal asserted himself quite well and hopefully, he will not become another Gill.

Nitish Reddy

Nitish Reddy is another who can be termed as a find from the tour. Sure, he is not yet qualified to be batting in the top 5 but he is quite young with the world as his oyster. The Melbourne hundred under serious pressure showcased his ability as a batsman. His bowling needs to grow a lot if he wants to be considered an allrounder. Only problem is that Indians when they focus on one aspect, they tend to underplay the other aspect of their game. Ashwin who had an healthy average during his initial years, focussed more on his bowling and thereby neglected his batting.

As a result, he could not find a spot whenever India went abroad. Nitish must decide what he wants to become. If he could bowl at 135KMPH and improve as a batsman too, India will find in Nitish a cricketer who will play for the nation for a very longtime. Perhaps, when Jacques Kallis comes to India, I do not know whether he is part of any coaching staff, Nitish can discuss with him as to how to develop as both a batsman and as a bowler. Who better than Kallis could answer the question?

Rahul is another who can be counted among the positives. I am among the bitter critic of Rahul. I have often said that Rahul’s place is in the middle order in ODI & T20 cricket. He must not be considered for Test cricket at all. However, in this series, he has shown that he can handle the best of the conditions for the bowlers and come out on top. It cannot be said that Rahul was a runaway success but there were some innings on tough pitches where he showed a lot of mettle. It was his partnership with Jaiswal at Perth that paved the way for the Indian win.

Wrapping up the BGT completed

India is usually known to surrender the advantage gained in the first innings by a lacklustre second innings. This has happened often in the past and also at Sydney. However, at Perth, Rahul ensured a mega opening partnership did not forfeit the advantage that was gained by Bumrah’s brilliant bowling though the others chipped in with wickets. Perhaps, the time has come for Rahul to be given an extended run at the top of the order. The next series is in England where the pitches if not as spicier as Australia, will have some carry. Rahul will again be called upon to blunt the new ball and to lay a foundation.

A bold and courageous decision

Posted on 4 January 20254 January 2025 by Bobji

Right at the outset, a word of appreciation for the decision Gambhir took on the morning of the Sydney Test. Eversince the press conference the previous day, speculation was rife about the position of Rohit Sharma. It was confirmed on the morning of the game that he was actually dropped. The Indian team can say all they want that Rohit Sharma has been rested but it is clear as a day that he was dropped and rightly so. It was indeed a bold and courageous decision. Gambhir will have to live by the sword and die by the sword. If India goes onto lose one more Test miserably, Gambhir will berated but will be hailed a genius if India win.

Ravi Shastri was also of the same opinion. “If there was a home season coming up he might’ve thought of carrying on, but I think he might just pull the plug at the end of this Test,” he said on commentary. “He’s not getting younger … it’s not that India don’t have youngsters. There are very, very good players in the wings and it’s time to build. Tough decisions, but there is a time for everything.”

Why only Rohit?

Rohit Sharma has not been among the runs for quite a longtime. Ofcourse, the same can be said about Kohli too and Gill. Left to me, I would have dropped Kohli as well and would not have picked Gill. Gill’s top score in the SENA countries still remains the 91 he scored at the Gabba 4 years ago. It really is a miracle he somehow survives. He is another of those cricketers who learn the basics of the game at the highest level. Kohli whose performance has not been that different from that of Rohit, lingers on. It would have made perfect sense to drop both of them. Nevertheless, this is a good start.

Indian cricket is spoilt by the hero culture. So much so that, even when a superstar has not been performing, he still gets picked in the team. The coach is scared to take the obvious decision to drop such an errant player. Any player, who has played for a reasonable amount of time, can be expected to hold onto his spot until public opinion gets so much unfavourable that the selectors are forced to drop him. The public opinion against Rohit grew to a fever pitch. Yet, to drop the incumbent captain during the series takes a lot of backbone. Gambhir showed that in ample measure.

The wrong player chosen

Did the decision to drop Rohit pay any dividend? Only time can tell. The pitch seems to be having a lot of uneven bounce even for day one. Batting is likely to be tough throughout the game. As such, a score of 187 could prove to be tricky. This looks like those Indian rank turners where scores around 200 is match-winning but we will have to wait until the end of day 2, to gauge the pitch. On the face of it, dropping Rohit did not bring about any drastic change in the fortune because the replacement was Gill. Could anyone else replaced Rohit? Ofcourse, yes. There are a few batsmen in the dugout who could have replaced Rohit. I will not want Sarfaraz but Jurel certainly looks like a Test cricketer. It is unfortunate that after the first Test, he has been forgotten.

Jurel must not feel disheartened because pretty soon, spots will open in the team with the exit of Kohli and probably, Jadeja. If I were in Jurel’s shoes, I will forget IPL for 2025 and will make myself available to play in the English County Championship. Play in 5-6 games and be ready when the tour starts. BCCI is certain to not schedule any practice game. As such, jumping straight into Tests will ensure another disastrous batting display. Hence, to insulate himself and also to be ready when the opportunity arises, Jurel must spend sometime in England. It is assuming that he values playing for the nation higher than player for a franchise.

Anyway, Jurel would have been a better solution than Gill. If anything, he would not have performed poorer than Gill.

The game itself

Kohli continued with his outside the off flirting. He just couldn’t resist himself long enough. With no end in sight for Kohli’s troubles, it will be graceful of himself to leave the scene. His future lies in ODI only. Perhaps, he could play ODI for about a year and retire from all forms. Pant for his part, showed admirable restraint. The Aussie commentators were full of not to change Pant’s natural game and let him be for who he is. Well, India should not mind that. Always remember, Australians usually hunt as a whole. It includes the media, spectators, commentators and in the olden days, the umpires.

Never take an Aussie in the middle of a series on their face value. Pant’s resolve had to give way and he played one of his customary shot which proved to be his demise. Nitish after a wonderful hundred, has now gone without scoring a run in two consecutive innings.

Sundar is being wasted at number 8. Rohit did not make use of his bowling at Melbourne and we have to wait for what Bumrah does. However, if he is going to bat as low as number 8, he might as well give way for a bowler. Sundar is a good top order batsman who will serve the nation for quite awhile.

Wrapping up a bold and courageous decision

If India go onto win the game, it will be a miracle but the days of Rohit and Kohli the Test cricketers are closer to the end.

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2024 for India

Posted on 4 January 20254 January 2025 by Bobji

This year saw more heartbreaks for the Indian fans as compared to the previous years. Yes, there was a T20 World Cup win but it was sandwiched between several disastrous games that by the end of the year, it seems like India have gone back to the dark old days of 1990s and early 2000s. The disappointment of missing out on the ODI World Cup trophy at home will rankle the Indians for a very longtime. Though the T20 World Cup came home after 16 years, the feeling of a golden opportunity missed in 2023, is too sad to ignore. Perhaps, a series win in South Africa, could have soothed some of the injured minds but that was not to be with the loss in the very first Test in South Africa. Overall, how was 2024 for India?

On a scale of 1-10, I will rate the year at 4.5. It was disastrous and humiliating in more ways than one. True, the year started off with a drawn series in South Africa. South Africa and India are proving to be the two most difficult countries to win series. South Africa prepare pitches that are exceptionally quick and bouncy. The Asian batsmen, just does not have a clue to bat on those ultra-bouncy surfaces. Yet, a brilliant performance with the ball, ensured that the series was tied which actually left the insatiable minds for more. At the end of it all, the Indian fans were left wondering when will we achieve our first ever series win in South Africa and become only the 3^rd nation in the history of the sport to have won atleast one series everywhere.

High of the season

For everyone, the T20 World Cup victory at USA and West Indies will rank as the biggest accomplishment of the Indian team during the year. It is true that it was a massive victory. Since the introduction of the IPL, India has never won the World T20. It has been 16 years since the last T20 World Cup win. 16 years is a very longtime when compared to Australia who is winning World Trophies for fun. It was a significant achievement but for me, Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game. It supersedes anything and everything. There is a reason it is called Test because Test wins are harder to achieve.

I will rank the series win against England as the high of the season. It was as comprehensive as it could be. Infact, it must have been 5-0 but for a freakish innings by Pope. England in India are not the same as England in New Zealand or Sri Lanka or Pakistan or in their own country. They lack high quality spinners to trouble the Indian batsmen who are not the best players of spin but can very well cope on pitches that do not turn extravagantly. What made the victory over England so magnificent was the fact that a number of individuals made their debut during that series. Jaiswal, Padikkal, Sarfaraz, Jurel, Akash Deep to name a few.

The bottomline is that the team was as inexperienced as England were experienced. I do not have any problem in placing this win ahead of the T20 World Cup. I am disregarding that as less significant.

I will give the World Cup victory and honourary position.

Low of the season

Without batting an eyelid, it was the humiliating and disturbing whitewash at the hands of a decent but not so spectacular New Zealand squad. Careers should have been terminated right after the series. The BCCI in their own wisdom, announced the squad to tour Australia just before the 3^rd Test was to commence. It is like the BCCI did not care whether the series was won or loss miserably. The failures in that series were far too many. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jadeja. Ashwin has since retired but the others have stayed. It has resulted in another humiliation in Australia.

Lessons were not learnt post New Zealand. The BCCI whose only intention is to make money either by hook or by crook, did not even arrange for a couple of practice games before Australian series started. At the end of the year, Indian cricket is rotting. Far too many misfits have held onto their position for far too long. On turning tracks, Indian batsmen are like a bunch of buffoons. On bouncy pitches, it is the same story though the win at Perth was an exception. The future does not hold any potential. With the limited ability of the batsmen and zero support to Bumrah, the England series in July looks scary for every Indian supporter. England is usually a better batting side than Australia though the results may reveal another facet but in their country, 100 overs per innings is the norm.

Best Performers in 2024 for India

Two of them. One is the youngster Jaiswal who has taken to Test cricket like fish to water. His runs against England was the main difference between a series win and a drawn or even a loss. 1478 runs in 2024, the second highest for India behind Tendulkar’s 1562 in 2010. He was head and shoulders above every other Indian batsman. The aura that he created influenced Nathan Lyon to talk to the England spinner Tom Hartley to understand Jaiswal.

The other is ofcourse the irresistible Jasprit Bumrah. He has set the Australian fields on fire. If only he could have been supported, by now, India will be leading the series. The Australian batsmen are terrified of facing his bowling. 30 wickets in 4 Tests at less than 15 runs per wicket. An extraordinary performance. One can only shudder to think about the scoreline if not for Bumrah.

Worst Performers in 2024 for India

Easily the senior statesmen. I wanted to include Gill too in this list but the failure of Rohit and Kohli was far gigantic that it dwarfed everyone else. Kohli has been out of form for 5 years and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. It is time both of them retire or be dropped from the team.

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