Bobji, Author at Cricket Critique

India needs improvement despite the win

Posted on 16 February 202416 February 2024 by Bobji

It was a good win. No doubt about that, especially, when you consider the fact that most of the batsmen are inexperienced. It makes the win all the most satisfying. Jasprit Bumrah and Jaiswal were the standout performers. India can be both satisfied and worried at the sametime because India needs improvement despite the win. The improvement must come rather quickly and immediately. England have proved that they are not going to be pushovers and are here on a mission. Bazball is making the efforts of the Indian bowlers all the more tough. They are aware of the fact that it just is impossible to run through the English lineup, unlike the previous series.

For starters, the Indian team will be boosted by the return of Rahul and probably Virat Kohli. Those two bring in lots of experience and in the case of Kohli, form and class. Kohli has a weakness against left-arm spin which probably Hartley will try to exploit. However, he can be trusted to overcome that weakness against Hartley. The pitches so far haven’t turned square which means, on slightly turning and slow and low pitches, Kohli can overcome the odds. More importantly, it is the psychological uplift that Kohli gives to the team and the shiver that he sends down the opponent’s spine that matters.

Importance of Kohli to the psyche of the team

Sure England would be having plans to counter Kohli and they must. That is the case with every team. It is not any different when it comes to Kohli. Even to this day, it is Kohli’s wicket that is most prized by every opposition because they know what he is capable of and the volume of runs that he can score. His addition will be excellent for an Indian team that is not exactly brimming with confidence.

However, the news about his availability for the 3^rd Test onwards is not clear. There are reports that his wife is expecting their 2^nd child due to which Kohli wants to be with her on their exciting journey. If that is the case, so be it. India too must adjust to life without Kohli to bail the team out because age is not on his side. Hardly, another year or two, that is the most Kohli can be expected to play the game.

Shreyas hasn’t improved at all against the bouncer

Youngsters must be given a chance to prove themselves and to fill the mega void of Kohli. It is easier said than done but it must be done. Rajat Patidar proved adequate during his stay at the crease. With Rahul expected to be back, I do hope that Patidar is retained and Shreyas is left out. Shreyas is thought of as someone who is a nightmare for the spinners but his displays with the bat at both Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam leaves a lot to be desired. His trouble against the short-ball is prevalent.

It has become so bad that even a slightly slower, Jimmy Anderson, wants to bounce him as soon as he is on the wicket. Shreyas’s struggle is an ungainly sight. In this day and age, it is so shocking to see a batsman terrified of the bouncer even against less-quicker bowlers. It really is surprising that despite knowing the faultline, he still hasn’t found a way around it. Not everyone can be a Ricky Ponting but the lack of an alternate batting strategy makes it frustrating to watch.

Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal

Looking that these two, I am reminded of the early days of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Rohit made his debut way before Kohli did. At that point, Rohit was thought to be the next batting sensation from the country. At the age of 20, he played a couple of blinders in Australia because of which India won the ODI series. Things nosedived subsequently and he never recovered until quite late in his career after he started to open the innings. On the otherhand, Kohli ever since, he made his debut, he didn’t really set Test cricket on fire but in ODI, some of the blinders ensured that he was always part of the calculation in the Tests. Slowly but definitely, he improved his Test batting and became the great that we know him for.

Something similar is happening now. Gill who made his debut in the 2020 Australian series, has a 3 year march over Jaiswal but now, his excruciating struggle means that Jaiswal with the double hundred, the only batsman to score more than 50 in that innings, has taken a march over Gill.

Gill too scored a hundred but has he really returned to form? That is a big question. He could have been out a lot earlier than he did. There is no history to go by to convince oneself that once he is among the runs, he will make every game count. Gill’s career so far has been littered with one too many inconsistencies. He has the firm backing of Dravid and Rohit but it is time he starts to score consistently.

Resting Jasprit Bumrah

There are some rumours floating around that the team management is thinking of resting Bumrah for the 3^rd game. The series is locked at one apiece and to think of resting the most successful bowler must be insane. Why is it that whenever a player needs rest, he is rested from playing for the nation and not while playing in the IPL? Someone will have to knock sense into the team management and tell them in no uncertain terms that Bumrah must play.

Any rest, can be had after the series. However, this directive had come directly from the BCCI, it is possible, nothing can be done. We all know that the BCCI does not care about the team or the players or the image of the nation. Their target is money. If the best players need to play in the IPL, it does not matter if he is not playing for the nation.

Wrapping up India needs improvement despite the win

The task is cut-out for India. They will have to bat extremely well and bowl penetratingly well. They are in for a tough series.

Other blogs

https://icricketcritique.com/the-final-test-preview/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-pataudi-trophy/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-sweepstakes-that-india-missed/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-sweepstakes-that-india-missed-2/

India in a spot of bother

Posted on 3 February 20243 February 2024 by Bobji

Having lost the first Test that they were expected to win, India now finds themselves in a situation that will send smiles throughout the English camp. Two batsmen who were among the runs at Hyderabad, atleast in the first innings, now find themselves out of the second Test. Rahul and Jadeja will miss the 2^nd Test because of injuries. Only 3 Indians crossed 50 in the first game and Rahul and Jadeja were among them. It is not only a blow for India but it could mean that the series could be lost at Vishakhapatnam. Yes, there are 3 more Tests to go and Virat Kohli will also be back but It is difficult to see an Indian side come back from 0-2 deficit to win the series. India in a spot of bother.

India in a spot of bother because of their own making. They cannot blame anyone else, ofcourse, the BCCI can be blamed, but themselves. Having taken a lead of 190, you cannot fathom a team losing. It just does not happen in India where a lead of more than 150 is usually a win by an innings. Indian spinners failed miserably and the batsmen, well the less said the better because in the absence of Pant, there isn’t anyone who can claim to have won games in the 4^th innings. Even Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma cannot claim that.

The new middle-order

India will begin the 2^nd Test on the backfoot. In the absence of a couple of experienced middle-order batsmen combined with the absence of Kohli, the entire middle order will wear a new look. Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sundar and Saurabh Kumar have all been inducted into the team. Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer do not inspire any confidence. A lot rests on the ability of Rohit Sharma to play a long and match-defining innings. I cannot believe that I am saying this after being in the drop Rahul brigade but his absence, especially when he is in good form will hurt. Ofcourse, neither of them could do anything in the 4^th innings chase but that is pretty much expected of every Indian batsman. Now, India finds themselves in the position of not even being able to set up the game in the first innings.

Perhaps, with so much experience lost, maybe, just maybe, Pujara could have been recalled to provide the much-needed stability. India is up against an England side that is brimming with confidence after an impressive and improbable win. India must take heart from the last series against England. They found themselves in a similar situation but ended up winning the series 3-1. However, the situation is much different now. England under Stokes is playing brave cricket and can be counted upon to change any situation around. In the last series, in was a comprehensive win for England but this time around, they won against all odds. Hence, the pressure on India is higher because they just don’t know what is the winning score.

Be on the defensive

Perhaps, India must think of going on the defensive for this game and must resist the urge to pick 5 bowlers. An extra batsman will provide the depth that is essential in the next game. 6 batsmen with Ashwin and Axar Patel must be the team. In that case, both Patidar and Sarfaraz can be expected to make their debut. Gill should be told to open, though there is no guarantee that he will make it count, with Rohit dropping to number 4. Gill is extremely lucky that Rahul and Jadeja are injured which gives him one more chance. Kuldeep should come in for Siraj.

Spinners only attack

England’s confidence is extremely high. So much so that, Brendan McCullum is toying with the idea of fielding an all-spin attack which means Mark Wood misses out and Shoaib Bashir comes into the playing eleven. This England team comes up with thoughts and ideas that were previously unheard of. There are several instances when teams under various captains played with an all-pace attack but never an all-spin attack. Even India did that once in Australia.

“When he arrived, boys gave him a huge cheer and he got to witness something pretty special with the fellas bowling us to a Test win. He comes into calculations for the next Test match. If the wickets continue to spin as much as what we saw in the first Test as the series goes on, look, we won’t be afraid to play all spinners or a balance of what we’ve got.”

Wrapping up India in a spot of bother

By the looks of it, it is going to be a tough series. England as was envisaged by their former captain, Michael Vaughan, are not going to be pushovers. They will fight with India every step of the way. The inexperience will be a problem. Probably, the management could promote Ashwin upto number 5 to not only protect the debutants but also to push the score along. Ashwin is certainly a decent batsman who hasn’t really lived upto that billing. The time is now for him to showcase his value as a batsman.

In the absence of Kohli, Rahul and Jadeja, he must raise upto the occasion and will have to contribute with the bat and with the ball. Onething for Rohit Sharma, however. Win the bloody toss.

The sweepstakes that India missed

Posted on 3 February 20243 February 2024 by Bobji

India’s grip at home is beginning to crumble. Australia warned us last year and because of that, the last Test at Ahmedabad was played on a road. England is now threatening to not only bang the door but to break the door completely. There is also a telling statistic. Kohli lost just 2 home Tests throughout his captaincy tenure whereas, Rohit Sharma has already lost 2 within the space of 12 months. As time goes by and with the imminent retirement of Kohli and Rohit and the inability of the youngsters, we the supporters will have to expect lot more days such as this. Let me analyse in the sweepstakes that India missed.

There were multiple reasons for the failure of the Indians to win the first Test. It is hard to pinpoint any one passage of play because the failure was all around. It wasn’t just a warning but an emphatic statement by Ben Stokes and the England team. They know that they have an inexperienced bowling attack and that they will be playing on spinning surfaces but they will not be afraid of shelving their approach and that they are here to compete.

First things first. Ollie Pope played an innings that I think he will find it hard to surpass in his entire career. The planning was good and the execution was perfect. He found good support among the bowlers who stood up to the challenge of Ashwin, Jadeja and Patel. It really was a shame that he couldn’t go onto a well deserved double hundred.

The youngsters are a worry

Shubman Gill and Jaiswal, on whom there is so much of expectation, looked all at sea when confronted with not even a lethal spin bowling attack. England has Tom Hartley who describes himself as a journeyman cricketer. He ends up running through the side. For Jaiswal atleast, this is only the 3^rd series of his career whereas, Shubman Gill has been around for awhile to understand international bowling. I am afraid that the more he plays, the more horrible his batting gets. He gives the impression of someone who is uninterested in the happenings on the field. Rather, he looks like someone who is contended by being somewhere else.

Ever since he made his debut, he has stopped playing in Ranji Trophy and thereby, his ability against spin, already limited as it is, has further diminished. Alongwith his unwillingness to be on the field and his lacklustre attitude, it is probably time to drop him from the squad and allow him to develop his batting away from international cricket. By continuing to be the in the squad, he is neither doing himself a favour nor the team. The absence of Kohli must have provided him a golden opportunity to play that innings and win the game and thereby make himself the undisputed replacement for Kohli. He couldn’t do that. Former Indian captain, Anil Kumble was scathing in his assessment of Gill. He said that Gill has been given a cushion that others weren’t given.

Dravid’s usual nonsense

Dravid also said that a majority of the batters in this India line-up were still learning the art of playing the long innings. “A lot of players are quite young, in the sense that a lot of these guys do play a lot of white-ball cricket and also maybe don’t get a lot of time to get to play a lot of first-class cricket as well. So they’re learning and I think they’re getting there.

I hope Dravid was in his senses when he uttered this statement. If the majority of the batsmen were still learning the art of playing the long innings, what were they even doing in the squad? What is their purpose? How is it that international cricket has become the learning ground and not the performing ground? Does Dravid even think when he speaks? I for one sincerely hoped that Dravid would resign or will not want to renew his contract after the ODI World Cup but I was absolutely flummoxed when he did so. For what? For us to hear such stupid arguments?

India cannot play spin

Over the last several years, it has become quite clear that Indians are not the same force they once were against spin. Quality spinners like Muralitharan and Warne were dealt with rather easily whereas, ordinary spinners like Panesar or Hartley or even Steven O Keefe reaped wickets against the Indians. Pitches that offer slow turn are the ones where the Indian batsmen have struggled since the turn of the millennium. It is so embarrassing to watch the Indian batsmen against spin.

They have become as poor as any in the game. There are a lot of Ranji players who have toiled hard on such surfaces. They have developed techniques to combat such pitches and bowlers. Unfortunately, they are not in contention because they do not set the IPL stakes on fire. These batsmen like Jaiswal, Gill and so many others are fast-tracked into the side based on some performances in the IPL. If IPL is the criterion, what is the point of the Ranji Trophy? Why do even have those games?

Ashwin and Jadeja

There is a reason Indian spinners are not considered that good. When compared to the likes of a Nathan Lyon or even Keshav Maharaj, the Indian spinners will rank very low. Ashwin and Jadeja have enjoyed a tremendous amount of success albeit on the rank-turners. That is a sad commentary of those spinners. Whenever there is turn but slow turn on the pitch, these two are not able to think the batsmen out. Their records are inflated because of such pitches when their calibre does not suggest that.

No planning against the sweep

It is known that England will be employing the sweep both conventional and the reverse to counter the spinners. This has happened in the past and yet, the team as a whole, did not seem to have worked on a counter strategy to defeat the sweep. Pope and the bowlers repeatedly did that and the Indian spinners remained clueless. The management led by Dravid must accept the blame for such shoddy performance of the bowlers. The batsmen, not entirely because the score was propped by a couple of bowlers, gave them a nice cushion but the lack of plan against the sweep was stark.

Wrapping up the sweepstakes that India missed

I just hope that the remaining pitches will not denigrate into dust-bowls. The Hyderabad pitch was good which helped the home team but they couldn’t make full use of it.

The Pataudi Trophy

Posted on 26 January 202426 January 2024 by Bobji

It is not really the Pataudi Trophy when England tour India because the name is given only for the India against England series held in England but for convenience, let me call it the Pataudi Trophy. The fact of the matter is that this series has not really captured the imagination of the public in the same way as India vs Australia or Australia vs England because the series between these teams have been more or less one-sided. Either India has won convincingly or England has won handsomely, except in 2007 when India won in England and England in India in 2012. The 2022 series was the only closely fought series between these two teams.

Nevertheless, one more series has been thrust upon us now that the big 3 of Australia, England and India have decided to play among themselves more often than not, perhaps, it is time to preview the next edition of the Pataudi Trophy.

Key Indian batsmen

It is a given that both Rohit’s and Kohli’s wickets will be the most sought after for England. They have the experience of playing on such tracks for eons though all of them at the highest level. The fact that Kohli will miss the first couple of Tests is a bonus for England. He is in good form having scored runs in South Africa and in white ball cricket. He is confident after a stellar World Cup campaign and his absence is a serious blow for India. There is no doubt about that. Rohit on the otherhand manages to score easily where the rest of the batsmen struggle. The last time England was here, Rohit played a sublime knock of about 150 when no one else was even able to reach 50.

The 3^rd Indian batsman that England will be wary of is Shreyas Iyer. Yes, he is more or less a sitting duck against the short-ball but on Indian pitches that hardly bounce, he must find himself at home. Moreover, he is an excellent player of spin which is an asset on Indian wickets. It is hard to believe that if Kohli had been available, Shreyas Iyer would have missed out now that the BCCI is adamant that Rahul cannot keep wickets. One wonders what has Gill done for him to be considered worthy of a spot whereas Shreyas Iyer, who has performed well in India, is not.

The youngsters like Gill and Jaiswal will be under pressure to deliver and make a name for themselves. Gill has been given a lot of chances but he is yet to show any significant returns for the chances. As for the Indian medium bowlers, they will be a welcome addition if they can chip in with wickets time and again.

Key Indian bowlers

Well, it is a no-brainer. It is always Ashwin and Jadeja. These two have picked up an enormous number of wickets. The opposition is defeated even before they step foot in the country. If the pitch is a square turner, England can kiss their chances goodbye. With the batting abilities of both Ashwin and Jadeja, I think a legspinner, in the form of Kuldeep Yadav could be an excellent addition.

Axar Patel is there ahead of him in the pecking order and he can contribute with the bat too but a legspinner of the left-arm variety will bamboozle the English batsmen. It remains to be seen what the management thinks about. Probably, with the experience of Kohli missing in the middle order, the team management will want to strengthen the lower middle order and hence may go the way of Axar Patel. He will not be a bad addition though.

Key English batsmen

Joe Root, who is an excellent player of spin with his new found range of strokes at a higher strike rate will always remain a threat to India. He reads spin extremely well. The humungous scores in the subcontinent are a testimony to the fact about his ability to play spin. He is a damn good batsman to be not able to raise upto the challenge of facing Ashwin, Jadeja and one of Patel or Kuldeep.

Johnny Bairstow is another who must be among the runs. The old Bairstow would have struggled but the Bazball Bairstow is a revelation. He is not afraid anymore of playing shots. He does not really care about the situation of the game. He sure seems to have been told by the English management to just bat his natural way. If the pitches do not offer extravagant turn, expect a couple of belligerent innings from Bairstow.

Ben Stokes for his ability is batting too low. He must be at number 2 with Root at number one or vice versa. It is unfortunate that he hasn’t done his batting any justice so far in his career. The time has come for him to consider himself as a batsman rather than an allrounder. Ofcourse, he can bowl but only if the situation demands it. When all other bowlers weren’t able to make much inroads.

Wrapping up the Pataudi Trophy

India starts as the firm favourite. They have ruled England in India over the last 25 years except for a Kevin Pietersen inspired series win in 2012. As I have mentioned above, the series between these teams has mostly been one way or the other. With the inexperience that England’s bowling attack possesses, it terms of spin ability, it will be hard for them to push India.

Other India vs England blogs

Warne reminiscences about the past

Posted on 26 January 202426 January 2024 by Bobji

The year 2018. Shane Warne reminiscences about the past. It was 25 years in 2018 since the Gatting ball. His thinks about how he felt during that day. First day of an Ashes Test, his very first Ashes series, he wondered whether he will bowl a long hop first ball or drop a catch or score a duck. However, what transpired as the stuff of legends. In 2018, the Australian cricket team got themselves into a terrible mess with the ball tampering scandal. On the personal front, his daughters were off school and his son training to become a model. His mother had alzheimer’s and father was by his side. His dream of playing as the Masters golf course in Augusta was accomplished. He ticked that box. Warney then goes onto describe his golf sessions at Augusta where he scored a hole-in-one that no one had ever achieved before.

24 March, Cape Town

Warne was shocked and embarrassed by what happened at Cape Town on that day. He felt let down by the incident, especially, when it was revealed that it was a pre-planned move. Some of the Australian players were quite arrogant towards their opponents over the years prior to 24 March. He felt that the Australians had lost their way of playing the game, ie., they do not blame the opponents. Rather, they make their point. The point he tries to make is that the nature of the offence itself because it was pre-meditated. He felt that the punishment was severe when Faf du Plessis and Vernon Philander were let off quite easily.

Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were vilified for breaching the spirit of the game. Cricket Australia imposed punishments on them above that of the ICC. The win-at-all-costs mindset is to be blamed for such incidents. Warne felt that Smith made a mistake and not a crime. His punishment would have been to strip Smith and Warner of captaincy and vice-captaincy posts and all the 3 imposed severe fines and banned for the 4th Test.

They must have been allowed to carry on after that. He believed when Darren Lehmann, the coach said that he wasn’t aware of the plan. His message to youngsters is “don’t worry about how many runs you make or how many Tests you play. Do the right thing by cricket and it will do the right thing for you.” Warne is adamant that Australians must play the game the Australian way. Hard and fair because the public wants to see them win but win fairly and by respecting the opposition.

13 May, Jaipur

His final day with Rajasthan Royals. He is all praise for the IPL and believes that the modern day batsman has become more powerful and innovative. Bowlers need to have an aggressive mindset as well and think about how to get a batsman out. He predicts certain players. Jos Buttler must play for England but we have seen how poor he is in Test cricket. Ben Stokes is a quality player and Warne has got that right. Sanju Samson will be the next Indian batting superstar but 5 years down the line, he is nowhere to be seen but Rishabh Pant grabbed the chances with both hands. Jofra Archer, if only he remains fit, will be an excellent bowler.

17 May and 15 July

Warne signed a contract with Fox Sports to cover the cricket. He didn’t want to leave Channel Nine but the offer was to great to miss out. He is also tasked with bringing in new shows surrounding sports. 15 July, he was knocked out of the World Series of Poker Main Event on the second day but ended up at 70 in the Wynn Main Event and collected 10K USD. Poker replaced his life that was suffering from the post retirement syndrome.

There is a revealing statistic that the highest suicide rate of former top level players in any sport are cricketers, mainly because the competition that they were involved in throughout their career, is no longer there. Poker is similar to cricket in the sense that everyone puts in the same money and after that the strategy and mind games take over. The game involves playing the opponent rather than the cards itself. He studied the players who could scratch their noses, look down or around, cough nervously and talk too much or too loud. These are tell-tale signs of a nervous player.

The final chapter

Warne in this final chapter expects that he has looked into himself while writing this book and has written about himself honestly. He admits that he has made mistakes that shaped him. Warne has certainly given an impetus to wrist spin. More and more are wanting to bowl legspin which will always be his legacy. A couple of compliments that he remembered, one, written by Bill O’Reilly in an article in Sydney Morning Herald, “it is fantastic to see leg spin is back. I hope they stick with this guy.”

The other was Keith Miller’s when he walked inside the dressing room and told Warne do not to worry about the tabloids and that he loved what Warne did on the field. Warne also picks the best Australian XI among the players he played with. The surprise was that he had Steve Waugh in it and that rounds up the autobiography.

Warne and life after cricket

Posted on 26 January 202426 January 2024 by Bobji

This chapter is about Warne and life after cricket. Cricket All Stars. Warne alongwith a few other former cricketers played an exhibition game in the UK which was attended by a sizeable crowd. He thought of playing such charity games often because of their potential but needed a wealthy backer. Things didn’t materialise. Some years later, he was asked to be the captain of the Rest of the World against MCC which was captained by Tendulkar. Then, in 2014, he went to see Lloyd Williams and told him about the idea. He was forthcoming and willing to support the idea which enabled the birth of Cricket All Stars. Williams insisted on having Tendulkar onboard for obvious reasons because of the Indian market and his fan following.

Warne spoke to him and Tendulkar too seemed to like the idea. It would be a series of 3 T20 games in America the first time around. Warne met Sachin in London with Sanjay, a business advisor. Soon they were joined by Ben Sturner. Sachin insisted that his friends, Ben and Sanjay must run the show. Warne was hesitant but acquiesced because of Tendulkar’s reputation and believed that he must have organised the business side of his life well but pretty soon regretted the decision. The handling of the entire scenario was haphazard. The ICC supported them but the US Cricket Association, whose relationship with ICC was strained, were not supportive enough.

Left till the end

Every aspect of the event was left till the last minute. The games were reasonably successful. There were a lot of lessons to be learned because the teams didn’t make the kind of money that they expected. Warne wanted the games to resume next year and told Tendulkar and also wanted to change the event management team. Tendulkar did not take kindly to the fact that his men were found inefficient. Days went by and the chance to have a second Cricket All Stars was waning which was when Warne heard that Sachin’s men had told him that they did not need Warne and that they can continue with the Cricket All Stars series.

For a couple of months, Sachin refused to attend any of Warne’s calls. Later, when they eventually spoke, Sachin told Warne that he was under the impression that Warne wanted to continue without Sachin. In the end, the series never catapulted itself and was laid to rest. Warne blamed Sachin’s men for the fiasco rather than Sachin himself.

Love for London

Warne describes his love for London and Scotland. London, he says is as good as Melbourne except for the weather, whereas Scotland, he was completely blown over by the Old Course at St. Andrews. He also says that anyone lucky enough to be invited to the Dunhill Links Championship which is played over 4 days at St. Andrews is really lucky because of the camaraderie. The top players and celebrities mixing with each other and amateurs plays with professionals. This is golf that he is talking about.

Music and stage

Warne had a close friendship with Chris Martin, the gifted Spanish singer. They met in London and ever since, they became best mates. Martin understood Warne like no other. With Martin, Warne went onstage thrice, first when he was suddenly grabbed by Martin and told him to change the jacket and become the 5th member of the band. Second, in Melbourne when Warne graced the stage with harmonica and played the instrument for a solo song from Martin. There were 60 – 70K fans who cheered him along. His favourites are Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen. The first ever record he bought was Cum on Feel the Noize by Quiet Riot. Dancing in the Dark was his favourites Springsteen song.

Warne’s thoughts about the game

Warne believes that the international game must be over 2 formats. Tests and ODI with T20 being an exclusive franchise event. The scheduling at the moment, is extremely tough and taxing on the players and the spectators. That needs a change. He ponders whether Test cricket must be seen only on Television. Except in Australia, England and some grounds in India, no one watches the games. The authorities have their heads in the sand hoping that the 5 days game will survive instead of any effort from their side. It needs heavy marketing and advertising. The youngsters must be made to understand the nuances of the longest format so that they can appreciate the game and ensure its survival.

At the moment, there are lots of unnecessary breaks for drinks, changing gloves etc. He feels that 32 overs can be bowled in one session. He proposes 384 overs over 4 days with the first innings capped at 130. If the overs are not bowled, the captain will have to sit out the next game.

His thoughts about the grounds

Pitches must be good in the sense that every type of cricketer must have a say. It cannot be flat roads if Test cricket needs to survive. Every game must be a contest between the bat and the ball with the ball taking a slight preference. Warne feels that bat size is irrelevant because if the pitches favour the bowler slightly, it does not matter the size of the bat. It only matters when the pitch is flat. Grounds must be of good size.

Do not bring in the boundary more than it is needed for the safety of the officials and for the camera. Every country must play an equal number of Tests and ODIs. The scheduling now is completely lopsided. ICC has done a few things to improve that situation but it needs to be improved further. Instead of the WTC finals, the trophy must be awarded to the best-performed team over some years. It has more and more become a game for the batsmen. The new ball, red or white, is not swinging like before. It must be because of the way it is manufactured. He wants to see a ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, WTC Finals and Champions Trophy at the end of the 4 year cycle. Two T20 World Cups in 4 years is overkill.

Shane Warne and his foundation

Posted on 26 January 202426 January 2024 by Bobji

The Shane Warne Foundation. This was a foundation for the children who were suffering from cancer. Shane Warne was inspired by David Rogers whose charity is called Challenge. Together with 10 children, David, Warne and the children went to the US for recreation where they did a variety of things that the children would otherwise not have been possible for the children. They met with various celebrities during the trip. Warne called it Trip of a Lifetime. This Trip of a Lifetime actually ended up changing his outlook towards life. This happened during the one year he was banned just before the 2003 ODI World Cup.

The team

He deposited 50K AUD with some friends chipping in with 50K of their own. It came upto 250K AUD. The board of the Shane Warne Foundation consisted of Glenn Robbins, David Evans, Andrew Bassat and Eddie McGuire. Russell Crowe, Greg Norman and Elizabeth became the ambassadors with Shane Warne as the Chairman. Warne trusted them completely because all of them were successful in their lives of their own and they wanted to give something back to the society.

Brad Grapsas was the CEO. The foundation launched certain events like poker nights, footy finals, gold days and Boxing Day Breakfast to earn money for the cause. Dermott (I must say I do not know who he is) a Celebrity Apprentice celebrity, chose the Shane Warne Foundation as his charity of choice. He gave around 250K AUD to the foundation. Campbell Brown attempted to cross the English Channel for the cause and donated another 250K. The number of celebrities that Warne met with and became friends through his Foundation was enormous. Some of them stood with Warne throughout his life. Eddie McGuire, his team member, went to the Monash Hospital for cancer patients to sing the Collingwood team song to the children who were huge fans of the club.

Controversy about The Foundation

The foundation did well until 2016 when it closed down. In the end, the charity donated 4.1 Million AUD to the children. They not only funded the cancer affected children but children with various other ailments too. It was a rewarding experience for Warne and his team. Chris Martin, the Spanish singer, visited some of these children including Aiden Buchanan whose parents died in the traumatic bushfires near Melbourne.

In November 2015, Melbourne Age took potshots at the foundation. The reporter alleged some irregularities on the part of The Foundation. Consumer Affairs Victoria, that investigates such irregularities, conducted a thorough investigation and found that apart from one late lodging of accounts in 2015, every other parametre was clean. Consumer Affairs cleared The Foundation of any wrongdoing. In 2016, the foundation announced that in light of the committee not finding any wrongdoing, they would wind up their operations and make a final distribution to its beneficiaries. Warne and the board members were hurt because of the wild accusations. The final straw was when the foundation was raided on Christmas Eve. All the accounts were handed over and everything was found to be inorder. The witch hunt continued when Warne had enough and decided to close down.

Shane Warne – The Musical

Eddie Perfect sought Warne to perform a musical in his name with Eddie acting like Warne. Warne was hesitant initially but eventually agreed. Eddie Perfect persuaded him to accept the musical. When he saw the performance, he was completely surprised because of some of the things that Warne did during his childhood, somehow, Eddie came to know about those like having beers and watching TV while his mother was cleaning the house etc. Not many people are that lucky to have a musical written about them. Warne thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Melbourne Days

He writes about his another favourite game, football. In 2017, there were more than 100K people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the AFL grand final. Richmond won that title against Collingwood. Football is closely followed in Melbourne and Warne was a huge football fan. His first passion was football until the age of 19. The AFL is fast and hard and it is often known as Aussie No Rules on the basis of the speed and freedom of movement and the physical contact. The players did not wear any sort of padding and hence, careers were short. The craze for the AFL players in Melbourne is as big as say a Tendulkar in Mumbai or a Christiano Ronaldo in Portugal.

The Moomba festival

It is a free community festival that happens every year during the Labour Day weekend in Melbourne. It is a day that celebrates all things good about Melbourne and crowns two local people for their contribution to the city. In 2015, Warne was crowned the King of Moomba and Pallavi Sharda was crowned as the queen of Melbourne. The Moomba parade involved in taking him through Melbourne city during the Moomba Parade with 80,000 cheering. Melbourne is an excellent city where the people have lots of fun. Warne was completely bitten by the Melbourne bug.

West Indies cricket chief Grave

Posted on 17 January 202417 January 2024 by Bobji

The West Indies cricket chief, Johnny Grave, wants the boards of India, England and Australia to do more to save Test cricket. South Africa and the West Indies, have not sent their strongest teams to tour New Zealand and Australia. West Indies have 7 uncapped players in their squad to Australia whereas South Africa has made a wholesale change in their squad to New Zealand. West Indies, it can be understood because even their first choice eleven, will not be able to compete against Australia in Australia. Especially, when they are in super form. The West Indian selectors cannot be accused of picking a second-string team because they may well be the first choice team given the performances of the so-called first-choice team.

In the case of South Africa, it is completely different because not only do they risk losing valuable WTC points but they also risk losing their first-ever series to New Zealand. That is a legacy that the South African board is not interested in preserving. They cannot be faulted either because every board will have to pay the players and the various stakeholders involved in the game. As such, the South African board is starved of cash when they finally struck gold with the SA20. They had to sacrifice something and they decided to sacrifice Test cricket this time. It could be another series next time around. One can understand the plight of not only South Africa and West Indies but of every other board who struggles to make ends meet.

One thing is sure. Test cricket as we know it today, is on the way out. With the onslaught of various leagues around the world, some of them allowing as much as 9 foreign players, it is just a question of time.

Failure of the administrators

Cricket statistician Mazher Arshad is right. “any country, outside of the Big Three, who is not prioritising T20 cricket is shooting itself in the foot”. Test cricket lost its lustre outside of the Big Three a longtime ago. It is the failure on the part of the administrators to not realise this. Ever since the introduction of T20 cricket, it was just a question of time when Test cricket would lose its priority. Only the top boards will be able to afford Tests. England and Australia have their lucrative TV deals and gate receipts, not to mention the more than a century old rivalry to run the show and India has an enormous fan base that ensures that Test cricket is atleast followed on various internet portals.

Cricket is the most time-consuming sport of all. Test cricket is the pinnacle of that. In the changing pattern, it simply is not going to survive. People are interested in instant thrill and entertainment which T20 provides. Every board now gives priority to T20 cricket through their various leagues. Infact, ICC themselves have given the IPL a 3-month window where no international cricket is played. The ICC itself is guilty of devaluing Test Cricket.

The time to shorten is here

Test cricket is desperate for reduced time. 5 days has become too lengthy. The time has come for it to be reduced to 4 days and even that is stretching it a bit. It is time the administrators realise that the format is in the ICU. They will have to stop spreading the game to multiple frontiers because again that will make people lose interest. You do not want to see India against Bahamas or Australia against Papua New Guinea. If in the distant future, these nations are given Test status, just imagine how competitive will it be. It has been close to 30 days and yet, Bangladesh is not Test standard. If the administrators do not listen, it must be done by design.

Johnny Graves and his insights

Having said that, let us see what Graves has to say. It must be read. There are lots of insights into what he said and what he hasn’t said. Steve Waugh told Sydney Morning Herald that the ICC or someone must intervene and stop boards from picking second-string teams. When I read the article, I was flabbergasted to know that the West Indies were not paid anything for agreeing to send their team all the way to Australia. Graves is right when he says that they spend a fortune on sending players to Australia.

“As an example of this is that CWI has spent over 2 million dollars sending teams to Australia in the last four months and whilst CA have received all the economic benefits from those series, we’ve seen zero dollars back. Is that really fair, reasonable and sustainable?”

“We’ve got a Test team there, an ODI team and a T20I team, which will cost us another million-plus dollars in terms of match fees and airfares. We spend more on airfares than anyone else in the world.” Graves said.

I was always under the impression that the host nation and the opposition board share the money from the tour, if not equally, atleast proportionally. However, Graves revelation must be looked at seriously. Is it because it is the West Indies board and powerful boards like Australia feels that they can be bounced around, that they are not paid? Or is this the way bilateral series works? I do not have an answer for that.

Not discouraging anyone

In the same interview, Graves also admits that the West Indies board will not stop anyone from playing in any leagues across the world. He is quite candid about it because he does not really have a choice. If their players want to earn their wares somewhere else, so be it. The board does not have the means to increase the salary of the players. Hence, they cannot make them stay in the Caribbean.

Wrapping up West Indies cricket chief Grave

It is hard to be chief of a board that does not know from where their revenue is going to come. A start has to be made by every board to share the revenue from the bilateral series. Wealthier boards like India, Australia and England could afford to share a bit more than equally. This may not prevent Test cricket’s ultimate demise but will help in prolonging its life.

Other blogs about West Indies

https://icricketcritique.com/the-rise-of-the-west-indian-empire/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-fall-of-the-west-indian-empire/

Shane Warne and franchise cricket

Posted on 16 January 202416 January 2024 by Bobji

Rajasthan Royals. Warne was first approached by Tony Greig for the now-defunct ICL. Indian Cricket League, a privately run T20 tournament. Having just retired, Warne did not feel like playing again except to honour the Hampshire contract. Greig was relentless and wanted Warne as the marquee player. A few days later, Stephen Fleming told him that he had a discussion with Lalit Modi who was about to start IPL and was keen on getting Warne onboard as the marquee player. A few days later, Ravi Krishnan who owned the commercial side of IMG in India, told Warne that the Jaipur franchise recruited Ravi as the vice chairman and that he had recommended Warne as the captain and coach for their team to the franchise owner Manoj Badale. Shane Warne and franchise cricket.

Manoj called Warne to understand his view of running a cricket team. He was impressed but Warne was unsure of playing even after the IPL was formally announced by the BCCI. Ravi again called him and told him that this was the chance that he shouldn’t miss because he was the best captain Australia never had. This intrigued Warne who readily agreed. His was the first name in the auction and Rajasthan Royals picked him rightaway.

All the marquee players were taken around the country before the start of the tournament. Mohammed Kaif was the biggest Indian name in the Royals’s teamsheet. He had an ego issue. One day at the hotel reception, he kept saying I am Kaif to the receptionist expecting them to treat him as a special player because he played for India. Warne would have none of it and laid down ground rules for all of the players.

Selecting the players

Warne had Monty, Zubin, Jeremy Snape for his support. Warne the unenviable task of pruning the selected 50 to a team squad of 16. Everyone was given a chance and after a lot of deliberations between himself, Chuck, Kaif and Munaf came down to 16 members. The Indians who were selected were all young and some of them cried when their names were announced. At one point, the owner, Manoj tried to push someone who wasn’t selected but Warne resisted and told him if the discarded player, Asif, must be in the squad, he would have to take Warne’s place. Manoj relented.

Warne set about thinking of T20 cricket as 120 separate contests. One per ball. The club also introduced the 3-second chill, a method which helps the bowlers and the batsmen to just calm down, look around the field and then bowl because the pressure is intense. Warne then goes onto describe his Rajasthan Royals team members. Watson was given confidence by telling him that he does not have anything to prove to anyone. The result, Watson was the player of the tournament in the inaugural edition. Munaf Patel was the leader of the attack.

Warne writes about his gift of understanding a player. He told the coaches that he would open with Yusuf Pathan against Adam Gilchrist because he was a nervous starter against spin but they said that Gilchrist would smash him. Hence, he opened with Munaf and Watson but Gilchrist smashed them anyway. 3rd over he brought in Yusuf and Gilchrist was gone. Warne set off doing the same thing that he did with Hampshire, to RR. He toughened them and made them an object to hate. Other teams must want to defeat RR badly.

Strategy for the games, BBL and the owner

Warne was called for disciplinary hearing meetings quite a few times which meant that he had to meet the IPL chairman Lalit Modi which was nothing but some informal drinking session. The strategy for every game was to pick up wickets in the powerplay. The more the wickets, the less likely the opponents are to post a substantial score. Then, Warne goes on about the finals and how the RR won with him at the wicket when the final run was scored. About Manoj Badale, Warne writes that he was of the same age as Warne. Warne felt that getting to know him was one of the best aspects of the whole IPL journey. Warne is all praise for Manoj going as far as saying that he helped Warne in alternate ways of thinking.

BBL came calling

4 years of playing for RR, Warne had enough and he retired from all forms of the game. Engaged with Hurley, Warne lived in London alongwith this fiancee when he got a call from Eddie McGuire. CA was about to start the BBL and he wanted Warne to captain Melbourne Stars. Warne was 42 and hadn’t bowled a ball in 6 months but he was fit. Eddie asked him to play atleast the first game so that thousands can come and watch him. However, his fiancee convinced him to play the entire season. Viv Richards was also roped in as the batting consultant.

One added technology that intrigued Warne was that he was supposed to talk to the viewers through the microphone that he was wearing. What would he bowl? Where would he bowl? his thinking etc. There is the famous delivery, one could still find it on YouTube, where Warne talks about how he will dismiss Brendan McCullum. It worked perfectly. In the end, Warne played a couple of seasons in the BBL and with that, he had enough of the game at 44 years.

Warne autobiography

Warne and County Cricket

Posted on 15 January 202415 January 2024 by Bobji

Following the Gatting delivery, quite a few counties approached Warne to play for them but Kerry Packer advised him to remain fresh for Australia. In 1999, the chairman of Hampshire again approached him and offered a good contract. Warne was undecided when Robin Smith, the former England batsman and Hampshire batsman, approached him again. Smith told Warne that Hampshire is a small county side with some talent but lacked leadership. They party a lot and do not take the game seriously. Would Warne be willing to induce the winning mindset into the group? Michael Cohen, persuaded Warne to appoint him as his UK agent. He came up with a Hampshire contract worth 150K GBP per year plus car, house and flight. The offer was too good and the chance to turnaround a struggling county was too hard to miss. Warne agreed and signed up with Hampshire.

The Hampshire years

20 years on, Michael Cohen’s MPC managed Warne in England. First day at Hampshire, Warne asked Peter Hartley to introduce him to the team thinking that he was the manager and would be around 50. Most of the Hampshire players were over the hill unable to move out. It turned out that he was the opening bowler for Hampshire at the age of 40. During the game, Warne was surprised by the pace Peter generated. Ever since they have become good friends. At the club, Warne the captain, wasn’t amused by what he witnessed. No one in the team took the game seriously. They were all happy to just spend time on their phone and not worry about how they bowled or were dismissed.

At the end of the season, chairman Rod Bransgrove asked for his opinion because he wanted him to come back. Warne snapped and let go of all his frustrations like supporting each other, no beers during the game and only when an important win was achieved among various other grievances. He returned 4 years later and his message to the team was we are playing the game to win. Other counties must fear facing upto Hampshire and they must respect this team. Every run scored and every wicket taken must be towards winning the game. Warne’s brilliance led the county to be promoted to Division 1. Warne increased the confidence of the guys so much that they felt they could not be defeated and win from anywhere. They were all supercharged for all the games.

In a couple of years, along with the promotion to Division 1, Warne took the team almost to the title win itself. Warne’s popularity with the club was so enormous that a stand at the Ageas Bowl was named after him.

The Asher fever

Warne for his part, did not grow up salivating about the Ashes. His interest in cricket kickstarted only after Australia won 4-0 in 1989. He gained enormous interest when he was picked for the 1993 tour to England. The first game of any Ashes series is always bigger than the game itself. For freshers, they begin to understand its legacy and about past players. The Ashes is even bigger now with the media and the boards wanting the milk it harder. Ashes defines the career of an English and an Australian. Andrew Flintoff whose overall record is mediocre is a superstar because of that one series in 2005. Ashes became predictable between 1989 and 2003 when Aussies won every series.

Both England and Australia knew that the Australians would win. So much so that Channel Nine did not bid for the rights to the 2005 series. England won that series and Warne had a little part in that. He recommended for KP to be part of England. KP played a significant role in that series. Prior to the start of the series, Warne did not feel that confident. He believed that he was bowling horribly. He spent sometime with Terry Jenner. After 5 hours in the nets the day before the first Test.

It helped in that on the morning of the first Test, he was excited and his mind was clear.

Preparation

The ideal preparation is both physical and mental. If you have something on your mind, it is better to clear it so that you can feel fresh and relaxed. Warne is certain that before any game, he needs his mental health secured so that he can concentrate. He practised hard until he felt alright with slip catching and ground fielding thrown in between.

What he never understood was the need to play football on the morning of a Test match. He believed that the preparation must be completed a day before the game and on the day of the match, just warmup is enough. Yeah, he was also against the stupid huddle thing that every team now does before going into the field before every session. It is ridiculous.

Warne’s views about John Buchanan

At the highest level, you are expected to be ready and the coach is merely a facilitator. At the highest level, it is more about mentoring and guiding. He never rated John Buchanan as a coach. Buchanan coached by the book and let analytics overtake common sense. He never understood any of his methods because it led to disharmony and sometimes, conflict.

He then moves onto write about the 2005 Ashes followed by the revenge series in 2007. Just before the start of the 2007 series, Buchanan conducted a boot camp. Warne did not see the point in carrying cans of water up the hills, pushing cars, reporting in the jungle, explosions after dark and singing the team song in the jungle. There were strict rules that included no smoking and Warne did not agree. After a compromise of allowing Warne to smoke discreetly, he went on to the camp.

During the camp, when they were awoken by an explosion, Buchanan spoke about how great is Australia and what the baggy green should mean to all of them. Warne is adamant that you do not have to worship the cap or even wear it to show your love for the country. Throughout his career, Warne refused to wear the baggy green on the field. He never really liked Buchanan.

Other parts of the autobiography