Author: Bobji

England managed to keep Ashes alive

Posted on by Bobji

The whole of England would have screamed The Ashes is alive, The Ashes is alive, The Ashes is alive. Well, it is indeed alive. England fought back really well and ensured that they live to fight another day. The action at Headingley, the scene of Ben Stokes’s previous exploits, was riveting. The tension was palpable on the face of everyone watching the game. There were multiple heroes for both England and Australia. England will be the more happier of the 2 teams who were fighting for The Ashes. The victory was fashioned not by Stokes but by a bloke who is just in his first year in international cricket and a fast bowler, who should have been in the starting eleven right from Edgbaston. How did England managed to keep Ashes alive?

The inclusion of Mark Wood

He has got pace. He runs in hard and is not shy of releasing the ball at uncomfortable speeds. That, he wasn’t part of the England team from Edgbaston is for me, an unpardonable oversight unless he was injured. Wood’s pace and movement after pitching clearly unsettled every Australian player. I have been advocating for Wood to be included in every game until the series is decided. Ofcourse, it makes sense to protect such a precious asset but why wouldn’t you want to make use of his services when the series is alive? Does anyone think that without Wood, England would still have won and that too after the infamous Bairstow incident at Lords? I doubt it. Wood was clearly the difference between the 2 sides.

Cummins who looked quite comfortable and assured of himself with the bat at Edgbaston and Lords, suddenly turned into a nervous wreck. Not just Cummins, the entire Australian tail was weary of facing upto Wood. They were afraid of getting hit by one of his thunderbolts. For once, Ollie Robinson’s words came true.

Johnny Bairstow continues to flounder

If only Bairstow had held onto the chances, England by now would have been leading 2-1 and not the otherway around. His keeping is not at all international standard. He misses every regulation nick and yet, he is persisted with for his batting. I am not advocating for Bairstow to be dropped but he must be relieved of his wicket-keeping duties. All the 3 games were won the Australia and England by small margins. As such, England cannot afford anymore largesse. It is another matter if England is short of good keepers but in Foakes, they have a worldclass keeper. Ollie Robinson will definitely not play at Old Trafford. It gives a good chance to bring Foakes back to keep wickets. Bairstow will probably be relieved to concentrate on batting alone. It may even unleash the beast within Bairstow.

Let us remember that all those match-winning innings that Bairstow played last year, he wasn’t keeping wickets then. His replacement, Harry Brook, has gone on from strength to strength and cannot be dropped. Stokes has a tricky decision to make. Does he risk Ashes by persisting with Bairstow as the keeper or does he solidify the team with the inclusion of a brilliant wicket-keeper? It will shorten the bowling but Broad, Woakes, Wood, Moeen and if needed Stokes and Root will be able to bowl the necessary overs.

If Bairstow continues to keep, probably one more Australian might tell him that “you have just dropped the Ashes”

Boycott wants him dropped

“England took a calculated gamble and it hasn’t worked,” wrote Boycott. “In three Tests he has dropped catches, missed a stumping and can’t score any runs. It is very sad and outwardly he may show he is upbeat and full of exuberance, but when you fail on the big stage in the full glare of publicity there is nowhere to hide and deep down it affects your confidence. Someone needs to be brave for him and take him out of the limelight.

Well, I will not go that far. However, I certainly want him replaced as the keeper. Bairstow can continue as a batsman.

Harry Brook showed his quality

He has the potential to become one of the best batsmen of his era. He displayed remarkable composure under extreme pressure. Brook curbed his natural instinct to bat aggressively and decisively. The situation called for restraint and accumulation. In the company of Woakes, Brook showed what he is made of. England have really found a worthy successor to Root.

Australia need not be disheartened

The positives for Australia far outweigh the negatives. The excellent comeback of Mitchell Marsh, who may very well have played a match-winning innings if not for lack of support from the other end. Australia will now be very much unsure as to whom to pick. Whether they will have to go back to Green or do they continue with Marsh? Green has been seen as the future of Australian cricket and in the limited exposure, has not done anything wrong to be dropped. He is an excellent fielder at gully. It will make sense to continue with Green. Australia’s real problem is at the top. David Warner. 17 times he has fallen to Broad. Broad is not going anywhere. He will play the final couple of Tests. As such, he will relish the prospect of bowling to Warner.

The only saving grace for Warner is that Australia does not have a reserve opener. Head opened in India but he has been so successful at number 5 that it does not really make any sense to move him up the order. Labuschagne himself is not among the runs and he is unlikely to. It leaves Mitchell Marsh to open the innings. I do not know whether he has opened even in Shield cricket but to do that in an international game needs a lot of courage. This could also be Marsh’s only opportunity to force himself into the side. If asked, I probably suspect that he will agree.

Wrapping up England managed to keep Ashes alive

It is not all doom and gloom for Australia. The momentum hasn’t shifted. This loss was always on the cards given the pressure on England. It took the brilliant bowling of Wood to unsettle them. They will be better off for this exposure.

The Leeds Test Preview

Posted on by Bobji

Going into Leeds, Australia will be the hot favourites to not only win the series but to win The Ashes as well. The most coveted trophy between the teams. England is under serious pressure to win the remaining 3 Tests and thereby the Ashes. A tall order in any way one looks at it. Especially, against an Australian side that has just won 4 of their last 5 Tests. All of them, away from home. England is actually caught in 2 minds. Whether to play the situation or continue with Bazball. Australia’s only worry will be how will Todd Murphy respond to the pressure of an Ashes Test. Based on the evidence against India, he will perhaps hold himself well. He may not pick up wickets by the bucketful but will be quite tight. This is the Leeds Test preview.

The Bairstow incident may not help England

The Johnny Bairstow incident is fresh in the minds of every English supporter. They are all primed to give hell to the Aussies. Alex Carey, who affected the stumping will be under tremendous pressure. The English supporters will leave no stone unturned in an effort to completely demoralise him. Cummins is not far behind either but it will be Carey who will bear the brunt. After Lords, Carey has suddenly become the most hated Australian in England.

The situation of Stokes is precarious. How he wishes that he hadn’t declared at Edgbaston which would have most certainly meant either a 1-1 scoreline or a 0-1 scoreline in favour of Australia. Does he want to continue with Bazball and risk getting bowled out cheaply with The Ashes on the line? Does he want to dial down Bazball a bit and minimise that risk? If Stokes’s past comments are anything to go by, mainly his comment about the England team being entertainers, he will continue with the aggressive approach but it remains to be seen whether it will comeback to bite them in the back.

News from the Australian camp

Australia’s bowling attack is set to undergo a massive change. Nathan Lyon is ruled out of the entire series with Todd Murphy replacing him. A more than able replacement I must say. Scott Boland will replace Hazlewood who has been rested. I would have resisted this change because until the Ashes is secured, I will need the best bowlers in the side. I will never want to give even a semblance of a way for England to come back into the series. If he was injured, it is a different story altogether but if he is not, I will want him to play.

Next is another forced change with Cameroon Green replaced with Mitchell Marsh. Marsh has been given a lot of chances but never really managed to make a spot his own, whereas Green came out of nowhere and has commanded a spot ever since. Nothing short of a hundred from Marsh will make the selectors think of retaining him in the future.

News from the England camp

James Anderson has been dropped and rightly so. He did not have any role at Edgbaston and Lords and if the pitches are going to continue in the same fashion, he will not have any role to play at all. His replacement is interesting. Chris Woakes. Stokes has opined that because of his troubled knee, he wants to have an extra bowling option. Josh Tongue who was reasonably quick when compared to other bowlers makes way for Moeen Ali. Now, this is interesting. Moeen definitely walks in after his injury healed but only because a spinner is needed to be able to take a major part of the workload. Mark Wood will finally play a part in the series. He must have played at Lords. With these changes, Harry Brook moves up the order to number 3.

I would have still preferred England to pick Foakes. They need a keeper. Bairstow is hopeless behind the wickets. He was one of the major reasons England lost at Edgbaston. Foakes is not in the squad but that doesn’t matter because in a bilateral series, every team is allowed to add anyone to the squad. England would have been served better with Foakes behind the wickets. If Pope wasn’t injured, perhaps, Bairstow would have to continue keeping because neither Brook nor Bairstow can be dropped on form. In Pope’s absence, England must have selected Foakes. He is also a decent batsman and would have more than made it up with his keeping.

Smith’s 100th Test

What a player he has been! Extraordinarily consistent and with an average above or just below 60, he is once in a generation batsman.

Wrapping up the Leeds Test Preview

The road ahead is tough for England but they somehow must win at Headingley. As for Australia, they must have selected the best possible 11 with an aim to win the series. Will Hazlewood’s absence come back to haunt them?

Other articles related to The Ashes can be read here, here and here

Australia is sitting pretty

Posted on by Bobji

Never in their wildest imagination, would Australia must have thought that come Leeds, they will be 2-0 up in the series with an outstanding chance of winning the Ashes outright at the first opportunity. They would have been happy to reach the halfway stage if England were leading by just a solitary Test. They would have been even more happier to get to Leeds with a one-Test advantage. On the contrary, it is the Australians who are calling the shots. Australia has not won a series in England in more than 20 years. They have come close but never managed to cross the line. With England in disarray following consecutive losses and the acrimonious scenes on the last day at Lords, Australia is well placed to win the series in England after 20 years. It is a mild statement to state that Australia is sitting pretty. They are solid.

The acrimonious last day

Johnny Bairstow’s dismissal has sparked throughout the cricketing world. Some are for and some are against but that is in the past. England just cannot afford to let that affect them any longer because they do not have that luxury. England are in a must-win situation. They need to win all the remaining Tests to regain the Ashes. Australia only needs to draw one Test to retain the Ashes though, having come so close, they will not be satisfied with anything than a series win. It will be difficult but not impossible for any team to come back from a 0-2 deficit to win the series. I cannot relocate too many instances of it except for one in 1979 between India and Australia.

Bairstow’s dismissal, sought of awakened the beast in Stokes. It was a mindboggling innings but I doubt whether Stokes would have played any differently even if Bairstow was out in the conventional way. There was a very short gap inbetween the Tests and England are really seething from the perceived injustice. They are likely to come out all guns blazing but that may directly benefit Australia.

All that Australia will have to do is maintain balance and see England self-destruct as they did at Edgbaston and Lords.

Excellent opening combination

The form of Khawaja and the good partnership at the top between him and Warner at the top has given Australia decent starts in almost all the innings. The case of Warner is especially curious. This is his last tour of England, as well as for Khawaja, and he would dearly want to make it count. He was Broad’s bunny in 2019 but this time around, though he hasn’t got the better of Broad, hasn’t got out to him either. He will count that as a small victory. This partnership has eased the pressure on the remaining batsmen. The first morning, with the sky overcast and the ball expected to swing, Warner and Khawaja resisted for the most part and took the sting away from the English bowlers. That allowed the likes of Smith, Head and to a certain extent, Carey and Head to prosper.

Smith’s hundredth Test

The modern-day great, Steve Smith will appear in the 100th Test of his career at Headingley. He is an extraordinary batsman who has his own technique. He somehow finds a way to score runs in all the conditions. Pace, spin or seam does not bother him a wee bit. None of his peers, Root, Kohli, Williamson can even come close to matching Smith’s consistency and hunger for runs in Test cricket. There is nothing that Smith hasn’t accomplished in his illustrious career. However, he still has one unfinished business. Winning The Ashes in England. He will want that drought to end in this series. Australia came quite close in 2019 on the back of quite a few exceptional Smith innings but one decision, one review, they could have won the series. They are brilliantly placed in this series and Smith will want to end the drought at Leeds.

The Australian bowling

On a couple of lifeless pitches, they somehow managed to find life. The deliveries to get rid of Root, Pope and Brooks at Lords were all peach of a delivery. Only Cummins could have produced deliveries of the highest quality. At Edgbaston, Boland looked pretty much ordinary but with the return of Mitchell Starc, they have become a much more potent force. The absence of Lyon will surely be felt. In Todd Murphy, they have a good understudy but how far will he be able to keep the English batsmen in check remains to be seen. This will be his first Ashes Test and he will want to impress.

However, there are still 2 more Tests to go. The load on Cummins has so far been tremendous. Since he is the captain, he does not have a choice but to continue. However, Australia must find a way to rotate their bowlers. I suspect Boland will again come into the equation from the 4th game onwards.

Wrapping up Australia is sitting pretty

I suspected that Australia will be extremely well prepared before the start of the WTC finals. It was the one trophy that didn’t adore their cabinet. Now that that is out of the way, their focus has shifted to the one series every Australian wants to win dearly. They are beautifully placed going into the Headingley Test. Will they be able to wrap up the Ashes and thereby make the rest of the games redundant? We will know the answer in 5 days.

Other articles related to The Ashes can be read here, here and here

Spirit of Cricket and Bairstow

Posted on by Bobji

Bairstow was stumped after he sleepwalked on the final day at Lords’. There was a huge uproar for every English supporter. Everyone invoked the spirit of cricket and absolutely pounced on the Australians. The Aussies on the otherhand remained convinced that they acted within the law of the game and they are not at fault. Even the usually well-behaved MCC members got into the act and abused the Australians in the revered Long Room during lunch break. Australians have become enemy number one in England. Having said that, why do teams nowadays talk about the spirit of cricket? Does England or Australia have the right to talk about it? For that matter, does any team have the right to talk about it? Let me analyse the spirit of Cricket and Bairstow.

First about the incident

YouTube is now filled with the Bairstow incident. The replay of the said incident is available at the click of a mouse. Just a casual glance will reveal the actual play. Bairstow ducks into a bouncer from Green and without any hesitation, walks off. At this point, if one were to look at Alex Carey, it can be clearly seen that he caught the ball and threw it in one swift motion. There wasn’t even the slightest pause. It all happened in one seamless motion. This essentially means that the ball wasn’t dead and was very much in play. This wasn’t different from stumping. Even when a batsman is stumped, he wasn’t attempting to run. He merely tries to get back into the crease. Ofcourse, Bairstow forgot that there was one.

It was Bairstow’s stupidity that led to his downfall. He has got no one to blame except himself. He did not even return and tap the bat inside the popping crease to signal that he understood that the ball was dead but kept walking without imagining the consequences. Australians were well within their rights to take the opportunity which they did.

Critics of the Australian alleged lack of sportsmanship must understand that they are in England to win The Ashes and not to make friends. England will do well at introspecting and looking at their performance rather than blaming external factors for their subjugation so far. The ill-timed declaration, misfiring batsmen, seamers of the same wavelength and above all, a wicket-keeper who cannot catch the ball.

Some of the comments

Geoffrey Boycott, the much respected former English batsman and commentator, has called for a public apology from the Australians.

“Australia need to have a think about what they did and make a fulsome public apology. That way it will redress the situation and everyone can then move on.”

Now, this is a bit farfetched. The Australians have not committed a crime to ask for an apology. What they did was well within the laws of the game. Boycott a respected commentator who is quite blunt when he speaks, must have squarely blamed Bairstow for his moment of madness. Instead, he called for Australia to apologise. It is not correct Mr. Boycott.

“SPIRIT OF CRICKET REDUCED TO ASHES,” the headline splashed across The Daily Express read

Daily Star’s headline: “SHAMELESS STUMPING STORM. SAME OLD AUSSIES”.

Ben Stokes, “If the shoe was on the other foot I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked whether they had called over and had a deep think about the whole spirit of the game and would I want to do something like that. For Australia, it was the match-winning moment. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no.”

Australia cannot claim that they are saints

Another incident on the same day happened just a few overs before Bairstow was stumped. Mitchell Starc, fielding in fine-leg, sprinted and caught a skied ball from the blade of Duckett. At first glance, everyone would have thought that that was a good running catch until multiple replays revealed that Starc dropped that catch. He was seen dragging the ball along the turf which implies it wasn’t a clean catch. Starc would have certainly realised that he did not catch the ball cleanly and yet, he went ahead with celebrating the wicket. The least he could have done was to inform the umpires that he wasn’t sure. Instead, he chose to make his illegitimate catch a legitimate one.

One thing is for sure. Majority of the English think that this Australian side is a bunch of cheats, whereas a majority of the Australians think that England is the moral police of the cricketing world applying the rules whenever it suits them.

Wrapping up spirit of cricket and Bairstow

None of the sides, especially over the last 40 years, has got any right to talk about the spirit of cricket. The on-field behaviour of every team has been nothing short of outrageous. None of the players can call themselves saints because they were involved in one incident or the other during their careers.

What about the sledging, mental disintegration, or abuse on the field? Isn’t that against the spirit of the game? What about sexual innuendoes? The most famous being Rod Marsh’s taunt of Ian Botham where he quipped, “how is your wife and my kids”. The point I am trying to make is that the spirit of the game was lost longtime ago. There is no point in invoking it at this point in time. No one, absolutely no one is playing within the spirit of the game. History of the game is littered with lots of examples. The new nation to join the game, Afghanistan, they cannot be exempted either.

The bottomline is that the game has become ultra-competitive with enormous money and far higher stakes. Every team will grab whatever opportunity that they are presented with to win the game so long as it is within the laws of the game. Australia got one such opportunity and grabbed it with both their hands to win a famous test. England will have to introspect.

Other articles related to The Ashes can be read here, here and here

The Ashes is slipping from England

Posted on by Bobji

Or, has it already? Not since the days of Ponting and Steve Waugh, have Australia wrested the Ashes in the space of three Tests. It was understandable then because Australia boasted of some extraordinary cricketers with a couple of all-time great bowlers in Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. However, if the samething happens now and that too in England, Australia will be thrilled and England will be gutted. It will be safe to assume that the Ashes will be with Australia for another 4 years because I do not see any chance for England in Australia. Going by the performance of England over the last couple of Tests, the Ashes is slipping from England.

A serious problem with the bowling

Notwithstanding Stokes’s extraordinary strokeplay on the final day, England was never really in the game. The first day was a disaster for England whichever way one looks at it. Having won the toss and electing to bowl under utterly favourable bowling conditions, especially, for the English bowlers who were brought up under such conditions, the first day performance was appalling. James Anderson is half the bowler he was.

The younger version of Anderson would have absolutely scythed through Australia but the older version did not create any impact. It was really sad to see how the mighty has fallen. It probably is time to talk to Anderson and understand what he wants to accomplish. Truth be told, England is one bowler, infact, a couple of bowlers short. Anderson may still prove effective under such conditions against lesser teams like India, Pakistan or perhaps even South Africa, but against the mighty Australians, he is clearly not so effective.

Another ineffective bowler is Ollie Robinson. Yes, he is the 2nd highest wicket-taker so far and with a better strike rate than the leader, Stuart Broad. Having said that, he does not look threatening at all. Australians will not lose sleep over thinking what Robinson is capable of or how to tackle him. A bowler who does not make the opposition think, is not good enough to be in the playing eleven.

England simply cannot have 4 trundlers, all bowling at 135KMPH. All of them are similar. Robinson, as the day moves on, is hardly able to bowl at 135KMPH. Instead, his pace is in the lower 120s. Even if the batsmen miss the delivery from the hand, they can still manage because of the lack of pace. Tongue was a slight improvement but it is not enough.

Pace is very much needed

England’s dire need is someone with pace. Mark Wood fits into that category but England are unwilling to risk him. Ben Stokes stated before the game,

“We felt that he could definitely start the game but with conversations, we felt the extra week with build-up and getting his loads up would give him a better chance and an opportunity to play a full part from Leeds onwards. We brought Tonguey into the team as a like-for-like with Woody.”

Now that England is 0-2 down, would they have been better served with Wood on the side? England and Stokes were thinking about the long haul when the current itself was in trouble. I mean, they were behind in the series having lost the first Test and one would have expected them to go into the Test at Lord’s with their best attack but Stokes didn’t think that Wood would have served the purpose.

Also, the pitches in both the Tests, were flat. They weren’t the traditional English seaming pitches, perhaps, not wanting to help Australia. Pace on such pitches is very much a necessity. Jofra Archer’s loss is a major factor but it is hard to believe that England does not possess any other fast bowler apart from Wood and Stone.

Stokes about winning the series

Immediately after the game, Stokes mentioned that England can still comeback to win the series. It essentially means that England will have to win the next 3 Tests. He also said that his side won three straight games against New Zealand and Pakistan. Both of those wins were commendable. No doubt about that but was Stokes really serious when he said that? He is the captain and he could not have said anything else but does he even believe that? Australia have got a brilliant bowling attack. Their batsmen are resolute enough. With Stokes’s rash decisions like the declaration, England will be lucky enough to deny Australia one Test.

I do not remember any instance, except for one, of a team winning the series after being 2 Tests down. In 1979, Australia did that to India. They were down 0-2 and won the last 3 Tests to take the series. Bobby Simpson, who was pulled out of retirement, was the captain of that series. However, it is next to impossible to do that against Australia. For that to happen, England will have to play extraordinary cricket. Going by the evidence so far, I do not see that happening.

Short ball tactic

The game stalled during the Australian and England innings because of the short-ball tactic used by both teams. It made for boring viewing. However, it was an effective ploy not only to deny runs but to get the batsmen out. International sport is hard and teams play to win. Now, bowling short all the time takes a lot out of the body. This is where the batsmen’s patience is tested to the core. Both sets of batsmen succumbed to it proving the tactic’s effectiveness. If we are going to see more of this in the remaining games, the games will be boring but it cannot be criticised.

Wrapping up The Ashes is slipping from England

How does Ben Stokes wish that he hadn’t declared at Edgbaston? Another 50-60 runs and it would have resulted in an England win or a draw. A result which means that when the teams travel to Leeds, the score could have been 1-1 or 0-1 with a chance for England to still win the series.

Other articles related to The Ashes can be read here and here

The importance of the Ranji Trophy

Posted on by Bobji

Indian cricketers, especially, the senior cricketers, once they start to play for India, they completely forget the need to turn up for their state team. There are various reasons for this but it is imperative that they treat the Ranji Trophy, which is the launching pad for all of them, with respect. The Indian batsmen are repeatedly getting exposed at the highest level against both pace and spin in equal measure. Not playing in the Ranji Trophy is having its effect. Everyone, except for the players themselves can see it. The importance of the Ranji Trophy can only be gauged if you play regularly.

Reluctance on the part of the players

This is not a new phenomenon. It has been happening right from the time I used to watch the game. 1980 onwards. Players take regular breaks without any reason. Back in the 80s, I have seen the likes of Kapil Dev, Vengsarkar and a few others, take a break from the remaining international games if India had already won the series. This was despite the fact that they hardly played during that era. Nothing needs to be said about playing Ranji during that era. Cut to the present, nothing has changed either. Infact, it has gone from bad to worse. When was the last time either Rohit or Kohli or for that matter Jadeja or Ashwin turned out for their respective state teams? I cannot recollect.

The problem is that these players and almost everyone else think that once they start to play for the country, Ranji Trophy is beneath their level. They seem to think that the standards that are on offer in first-class cricket are not what will improve their game. The bigger the star, the bigger their aversion to Ranji. This is ridiculous. Wherever you are, it is always better to comeback to the roots.

The lost art of playing spin

Indians are traditionally known to play spin better than anyone else. The great Shane Warne and Muralitharan will vouch for the fact. Warne never enjoyed the same success against India that he enjoyed against every other team. Murali on the otherhand, had one good series in Sri Lanka and apart from that, nothing much to show for it. The rot set in when batsmen of that period, Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman and a few others didn’t appear for their states. Their prowess against spin began to deteriorate ever since they started to treat Ranji poorly. None of them appeared for their states beyond 2003. Atleast, I do not remember. As a result, the Indians lost the series to Australia on turning pitches which was followed by another series loss to England.

In both the series, the opposition spinners spun a web around the Indian batsmen. Supporters might say that it is just 2 series lost in over 2 decades which is not at all a bad record. It must be understood that Kumble, Harbhajan and later Ashwin and Jadeja have proven to be more than a match for the opponent in Indian conditions.

Lyon is much more successful against India than against any other team. The likes of Mitchell Santner are economical. In white ball cricket, it is well known that to tie down the Indian batsmen, bring on a spinner. Far too often, we have struggled to post a good score or chase one because of the inability of the batsmen to play spin. Kohli is a suspect against spin. He is unable to get the ball off the square and as a result, Indians lose valuable overs. Adam Zampa absolutely ties the Indians down.

The art of playing long innings

When was the last time, India scored in excess of 450 consistently? There used to be a time when 400 was the norm, atleast in Asia. Now, even this has come down and 350 is now thought to be difficult to get. The returns of Rohit, Kohli, Pujara & Rahane, all experienced players have ensured that India does not cross even 400 regularly. Jadeja, Pant & Ashwin are required to score to get the score upto this level. This is a sad turn of events. Under Ganguly, Indians used to score more than 400 even in Australia and England but now, scoring 300 in India is being recognised as a good score. Such has been the fall of the decorated batsmen.

If the players play in Ranji, they will once again learn the art of being patient and building an innings. Pujara is the only one who plays in Ranji from time to time but when it comes to international cricket, he gets completely bogged down and does not even think about singles.

Wrapping up the importance of the Ranji Trophy

It is time the board makes it mandatory for every Indian cricketer to play in atleast 4 Ranji games for their respective states every year. They can take rest from playing in IPL but not while playing for their state or for the nation.

The curious case of Sarfaraz Khan

Posted on by Bobji

There has been quite an uproar over the non-selection of Sarfaraz Khan from the Indian team to West Indies. Former players too have stepped into the bandwagon and have absolutely thrashed the selectors. Yes, it is true that Sarfaraz has amassed runs for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy for the last couple of years. It is also true that Ranji Trophy must be the prime competition to select players for the Indian Test squad rather than based on IPL performances. However, is there anything more than what meets the eye? Was it really cricketing grounds the reason for Sarfaraz’s exclusion? It is the curious case of Sarfaraz Khan.

Gavaskar and Saba Karim statements

Sunil Gavaskar says, “Sarfaraz Khan has been scoring at an average of 100 in all past three seasons. What does he have to do to be picked in the squad? He might not be in the XI, but you pick him in the team,” Sarfaraz was quoted as saying to Sports Today.

“Tell him that his performances are being recognized. Otherwise, stop playing Ranji Trophy. Say, it’s of no use, you just play IPL and think you are good enough for the red ball game as well,” he stated.

“I am very surprised. I am perplexed with the thought process of the Indian selectors right now. The guy has literally knocked the door down. What else do you want from him,” Saba Karim told The Indian Express.

The selector’s defense

“The angry reactions are understandable but I can tell you with some degree of certainty that the reason behind Sarfaraz getting ignored time and again is not just cricketing one. There are multiple reasons for which he hasn’t been considered,” said the official. “Are the selectors fools to not consider a player who has scored 900 plus runs in successive seasons? One of the reason is his fitness which isn’t exactly of international standard.”

One of the reason for his continued exclusion is that he struggled against some good bowling during IPL. He wasn’t really a big success when he turned out in the colours of RCB or Delhi Capitals. Agreed that the IPL performance or non-performance should not matter but the point is, the quality of the bowlers in the IPL is not that high. Every side has at the most one or at the most a couple of bowlers of high quality.

At the highest level, every top team will have 4 quality bowlers. If there is a technical shortcoming, these bowlers are capable of exposing any batsmen immediately. There are so many examples of this in international cricket. Australia’s Michael Bevan. India’s Vinod Kambli, the list just goes on and on.

The good thing here is that the selectors are not swayed by the runs scored by the batsman alone. They discuss the player in question from various angles. Whether he has the game to perform under pressure. Whether he is good enough to bat when the ball swings or seams or bounces or turns. In short, based on the selector’s comments, it looks like they discuss every aspect of the player. It is actually good to know that the selectors know what they are doing.

The discipline side

The same selector also added, “His conduct on and off the field hasn’t exactly been top notch. Certain things said, certain gestures made and some incidents have been taken note of. A bit more disciplined approach would only do him a world of good. Hopefully, Sarfaraz along with his father and coach Naushad Khan will work on those aspects,” the senior official added.

This is the more troubling aspect. We have all seen how Virat Kohli behaves on the field of play. Far too many times, he has gone overboard with his celebration or abuse. For the general viewer, it is nothing but obscene. Sarfaraz Khan seems to be having similar attitude issues. For some reason, the young Mumbai lads are having this problem. The flamboyant opener, Prithvi Shaw, is known for such a poor attitude. Selectors have repeatedly advised him but it doesn’t seem to have any effect on him. He is a classic example of how someone is unable to handle money and fame at a young age.

Sarfaraz will have to guard himself against this. For any sportsperson or for that matter, for anyone, discipline and the right attitude is pretty essential.

Wrapping up the curious case of Sarfaraz Khan

It takes a lot of courage to deny opportunities to a player who has amassed runs in your premier competition and for whom the support is tremendous on the basis of his poor attitude and technical shortcoming. The selectors must be commended for such a decision. Hopefully, Sarfaraz, unlike Prithvi Shaw, will mend his ways and will also improve his game.

Indian team for West Indies

Posted on by Bobji

As was suspected, the Indian selectors do not have any plans for the future. It is clear from the team that was selected for the West Indies tour. One cannot find such a hapless board despite boasting of rich resources. First, it was the recall of Pujara at Edgbaston in 2021 which resulted in utter failure. Then, the recall of Rahane on the basis of his runs for CSK in the IPL. The continued persistence with Umesh Yadav. The list is quite endless. The Indian team for West Indies, though it has got some youngsters, is not really forward looking.

The Test squad Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk), Navdeep Saini.

Gavaskar is furious over Pujara

Though Pujara and Umesh Yadav have been dropped, which is the right thing to do, a few of the out-of-form players for the last several years are still persisted with. I am not going to find fault in the axing of Pujara. He afterall, has been given a lengthy rope and hasn’t lived up to the expectations. His good days left him longtime ago. I only hope that irrespective of his performance for Sussex or for Saurashtra, he must not comeback into the team. It will be a regressive step if it happens. However, not everyone is pleased that Pujara is dropped. Gavaskar is furious that Pujara has been made the scapegoat.

“Why has he been dropped? Why has he been made the scapegoat for our batting failures? He has been a loyal servant of Indian cricket,” Gavaskar told India Today. “But because he does not have millions of followers on platforms who will make a noise in case he gets dropped, so you drop him. That is something beyond my understanding. What is the criteria of dropping him and keeping the others who failed? I do not know because nowadays, there is no media interaction with the selection committee chairman, where you could ask these questions.”

Well, he is probably correct. He wasn’t the only failure. Rohit, Kohli, Gill & Jadeja failed too. Ideally, Kohli alongwith Pujara should have been dropped. Kohli’s performance over the last several years is not that better. He is surviving because of his past legacy. One can only hope that he, Rohit, Rahane, the so-called seniors are told that from now on, it will be series to series basis. You are expected to perform in every series. Otherwise, you are out.

The dropping of Umesh Yadav

If at all there has been a journeyman cricketer, it must be Umesh Yadav. Having played for more than 10 years, he hasn’t improved a wee bit. Even Ishant Sharma, who learned the game at the highest level, improved after 10 years but Yadav, he always remained an enigma. When he was in the squad for the WTC finals, Indians knew that we are going in with a bowler less. He is or rather was, blessed with pace. If only he used his brain often in games, he could have been the spearhead for the Indian team but Bumrah, who made his debut much later than Yadav became the spearhead and now, it is Siraj.

All of these must make Yadav cringe. He must realise where he fell off. What was the problem that he wasn’t able to achieve the heights that he expected to when he made his debut? Not that it will matter any longer because I do not or rather I wish he is not given one more chance to fail.

The selection of some of the youngsters

By the looks of it, Jaiswal will replace Pujara in the middle. My only worry is that there are far too many players from Mumbai which is not good for India based on the autobiography of Sanjay Manjrekar. Nonetheless, it is good to see the selection of Navdeep Saini. He is someone who has got raw pace. Ofcourse, he is wayward but when he gets his line and length right, he will be difficult to bat against. There are some precious diamonds in Indian cricket like Saini, Kuldeep Sen and Umran Malik who with raw pace, can unsettle the opponents. India made the mistake of not guiding Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron properly. The same mistake must not be repeated with Saini.

Ashwin, Jadeja & Siraj will certainly be in the playing eleven which negates the need for Shardul. I would like to see Siraj, Saini & Mukesh in the lineup.

Wrapping up Indian team for West Indies

India has been winning games in the country because of Ashwin and Jadeja who are virtually unplayable on some questionable pitches. Outside of India, it is because of decent seam bowlers though we have lost a lot of games that should have been won. A couple of Tests in England in 2018 and a couple of Tests in South Africa come to mind immediately. It is the batsmen who have let the team down consistently. The misfiring batsmen are going scot-free except for a few changes here and there. There doesn’t seem to be a concerted effort to make the batsmen be much more responsible. Overall, I think this team could have done with a few more additions and some deletions. Again, I repeat, I can only hope that the seniors are told that they are under the scanner and failure in West Indies will not be viewed kindly.

Future of Indian cricket

Posted on by Bobji

Indian cricket is at the crossroad. Far too many aged cricketers whom the Australians would love to call Dad’s Army and very few youngsters who will go onto have a productive career. Some of the seniors are clinging on just because of their past exploits. With the WTC cycle between 2021 – 2023 complete, it is time to blood youngsters who may carry the torch of some really good players. The new WTC cycle starts with a series against the West Indies. The pitches in the Caribbean are not expected to be quick and it could be the ideal starting ground for the youngsters. Towards the end of the current WTC cycle, more than half of the current cricketers who represented the team in the last finals, will be 35 and above and their agility is bound to decrease which will make them a liability. The future of Indian cricket.

Does the selectors even have a succession plan? That is the pertinent question that needs to be raised at the moment. The recall of Rahane for the finals and the recall of Pujara before the Edgbaston Test in 2022 signifies that the selectors are actually clueless. What was the point of bringing them back after they were dropped about 6 months ago? Most of the times, selectors have like there aren’t enough talented cricketers on this land.

The experienced seniors

For now, atleast, Rohit Sharma is hanging by the thread. He is the captain though who just lost the WTC without a semblance of a fight. He probably is the most consistent batsman in the Indian team. I have set the standards very low. Anyone with an average of close to 40 over the last 4 years is consistent because the rest, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane and Gill hardly scored any. He is injury personified and missed a large part of 2022. At the most, he has only about a year left in international cricket. It is difficult to see him appear for India beyond the South African tour. As for captainship, the ODI World Cup in October will be his last.

Pujara, for all his exploits in the English County Division 2, his days as an international cricketer are behind him. Let the selectors not be fooled because of the tons of runs he makes for Sussex because the standard of Division 2 is poor. At Edgbaston, he was hardly able to get the ball off the square despite amassing runs for Sussex just a few weeks before the Test. He should never have been selected. Instead start performers in Ranji Trophy could have been given the opportunity.

The non-existent middle order

Rahane came back into the squad based on his exploits for CSK in the IPL. It really is a pity that IPL has now become the yardstick to select players for Tests. It should never be the case. Performance in Ranji or Duleep Trophy, which are proper 5 day games, must be the criteria. Having said that, Rahane was in good form in those games but what was the point of bringing back a 34 year old? How long can he continue to contribute?

Kohli is clearly on borrowed time. 4 years of absolute lacklustre performance. The phenomenal 4 years between 2014 and 2018 is keeping things ticking for him. He is clearly struggling to get out of the rut. I have always been a supporter of Kohli being given an extended run despite his lean period. However, that has now grown thin following the miserable WTC game. When his contemporaries, Root, Smith, Williamson et al are scoring runs for fun, Kohli seems to be fighting his own self. He is clearly shot of confidence and is unsure where his next run is going to come from.

All the above seniors must be clearly told that their selection from now on, will be on case-by-case basis. They need performance to carry them and not their reputation.

Captaincy conundrum

Rohit Sharma with his lack of fitness is clearly not my choice for captain. Right after the game against Australia, Rohit must have been removed and instead, Ashwin must have been made the captain. Why? Ashwin is a certain starter in the West Indies. Not for nothing is he known as The Professor. He is a good, thinking cricketer who always strives to improve his game. After Kohli, Ashwin must have been made the captain. Ofcourse, there were question marks over his place in the eleven outside of the sub-continent but he would have offset that with his skills as captain. He can contribute for another couple of years. Something that cannot be said about either Rohit or Rahane. He will be the ideal transition captain. If left to go abegging, India will lose the services of Ashwin the captain just like Australia lost the services of Warne the captain.

As for the longer term, I do not think Gill or Pant or for that matter, even Bumrah is the choice. The selectors must invest on someone who is good captaincy credentials. Ofcourse, it is not possible to have someone just for his skills as captain.

The seamers

Bumrah has been out of action for almost a year. His back is finally giving up after years of toil. Yes, Bumrah has been treated with kid’s gloves and has he really repaid that faith? It is doubtful. He plays every game in the IPL but selectively for India. He has certainly frustrated as a bowler. Shami is 32 but is frustratingly inconsistent. He does not really run through the sides as his bowling should. Siraj is bowling well and will probably spearhead the bowling in the short future.

Who after Jadeja & Ashwin?

Ashwin and Jadeja have been India’s match winners in the sub-continent for a very longtime. They have knee problems and as such are not expected to be around for more than a couple of years. Axar Patel, though good with the bat, cannot be the ideal replacement. Are there any spinners in Indian cricket?

Wrapping up future of Indian Cricket

It is time almost all of the seniors are let go within the next couple of years and youngsters are selected to replace them.

The first Ashes Test Australia

Posted on by Bobji

Before you being reading the first Ashes Test Australia, please read England’s perspective.

Let me jump to Australia

First, they will be thrilled that they managed to win the Test without a major contribution from either Smith or Labuschagne. That is a huge positive for Australia. It must have given them a huge belief that they do not always need both of them to score to be able to win. It will also keep England guessing knowing that these two cannot be kept silent for too long. What must rankle England is the fact that they managed to lose a Test in which neither of them scored.

“It’s very rare that Marn and Smudge miss out in the same Test match,” head coach Andrew McDonald said. “It’s an appetising thought.

“They will be no doubt a craving for more net sessions from Marn and Smudge. They’re disappointed they missed out in this game, but I think any time the Australian cricket team can win without those two performing at high level is always a positive. We’ve got some areas we can improve, there’s some growth within the team and there’s two obvious ones.”

Smith is coming off of a brilliant hundred in the WTC finals. He is in form and there is no doubt about that. It was just one of those games which didn’t go according to plan but before the end of the series, he will definitely score a couple of hundreds to establish his credentials once again. Afterall, he is the best Test batsman in the world by a long distance.

What else must Lyon do?

Nathan Lyon has been a much maligned character in his career. He is not rated highly but time and again, he has proved that he is the best spinner in the world at the moment. Not Ashwin, not Jadeja or anyone else. Having bowled on the pitches of Australia for much of his career, he is averaging more than 4 wickets per Test. That is a return even the great Shane Warne will be proud of.

Here he showcased his credentials once again with 8 wickets in the game on not-so-friendly pitches. The delivery to dismiss Bairstow in the 1st innings was a beauty. It was a classical off-spinner’s wicket. Well-flighted, the ball dipped at the opportune moment. Bairstow completely misjudged the line and was comprehensively beaten. Carey behind the stumps did the rest. Lyon was taken apart in the 1st innings but his 4 wickets, including 3 proper batsmen, more than justified the runs given away.

In the 2nd however, he went one better with just above 3.3 runs an over and again picked up 3 top-order wickets. Lyon does not often strive to bowl something different every delivery. He thinks and relies more on over-spin and bounce. He has been marked as a Test specialist. With his consistency and wicket taking ability, it really was a surprise when a few years ago, there were talks about replacing Lyon with O’Keefe or some other spinner. Lyon is known as GOAT by his teammates. It is time he is recognised as the GOAT by the rest of the world.

Khawaja’s brilliant performance and Carey’s good support

I must admit that I did not foresee Khawaja as a threat at all. With Warner as his partner whose inability in England is known, I thought Australia will not be getting good starts. Warner was defiant in both innings though he did not go onto score a big one, whereas Khawaja was a revelation. He was patient personified. He was rightly adjudged the man of the match. Ofcourse, this pitch did not have anything for the bowlers but it called for sound temperament on the part of the batsmen.

Khawaja displayed that admirably. He is towards the end of his career and if he keeps his run-scoring, he may end up with an average in excess of 50. A brilliant end to a career for someone who was a forgotten man. He had a fallout with the previous coach, Justin Langer for his outspokenness but the current management seems to have realised his value to the team.

As for Carey, he is going from strength to strength. He has talent and there is no doubt about it. This was par for the course. He is in the mould of his illustrious predecessor, Adam Gilchrist. His shoes are hard to fill but Carey is the closest to him. Carey can be devastating and at the sametime, if patience is required, he can display that in ample amount. Towards the end, he got somewhat nervous as his twin shots at Root showed but he will learn.

The struggle of Warner

Not everything was roses for Australia. Warner’s continued struggle though he got starts in both innings will worry them. The fact that he didn’t get out to Broad will improve his confidence but sooner rather than later, he will have to become the typical Warner because if England gets the better of both Labuschagne and Smith throughout the series, they will need someone else to lead from the front. That must be Warner, being an experienced cricketer.

Michael Vaughan before the start said that England will treat Scott Boland like a spinner. They did just that. He was easily the most expensive bowler. A lot of eyebrows were raised when he replaced Starc but it wasn’t a surprise because Starc is never in the scheme of things in England. Last time around, Starc played in only one Test. Even the Indians treated him with disdain in the WTC finals.