Bobji, Author at Cricket Critique

Cricket T20 World Cup Preview

Posted on 24 October 202129 December 2023 by Bobji

One more year, one more world cup. This time it is T20 world cup with one more scheduled next year in Australia. These so-called world cups seem to come thick and fast. The tournament was scheduled to be held in India but the Covid situation in the country at the time the decision was taken to shift the tournament was desperate. Hence, the tournament will be held in UAE. When it comes to a world cup, who are the favourites to win the title will be first question asked? I see 2-3 teams as favourites. Let me try to analyse in cricket T20 world cup preview.

The red-hot favourites to win the title are England and India. The dark horses are New Zealand and because the tournament is in Asia, Pakistan.

About England and their ability

Now, England have become such a formidable force in the short formats over the last 6 years. From where they were in 2015 to where they are now, it is a complete turnaround. They have packed the side with hitters who are not afraid to play aggressive cricket right from ball one. The depth in the English batting is unbelievable. Jordan who walks in at number 9 is capable of hitting the ball out of the stadium. In the absence of Stokes and Archer, they do appear to be slightly weakened in both batting and bowling.

However, they have enough in the reserves to be able to offset that loss. The only concern for England is the form of their captain Eoin Morgan. His batting was pretty ordinary throughout the IPL. Though he was able to inspire a turnaround in KKR fortune and propel them to the final, his lack of contribution with the bat was the major sticking point. Whether he will be able to regain his form during the world cup on the same surface that was used for IPL remains to be seen. In the absence of Stokes, Morgan’s role in the middle is crucial. England will be in serious trouble if Morgan’s batting affects his thinking.

Now, if the pitches are slow and low as during the IPL, England will struggle. They do not have quality spinners to exploit the surface. On the otherhand, if the pitches are flat as expected during ICC events, England will be tough to beat. Don’t forget. They still possess the best batsman in T20 cricket. Dawid Malan.

Does India have the strength?

India does seem to possess the perfect blend of batsmen and bowlers for the expected condition. They have a formidable top three with a belligerent lower middle order and perhaps the best T20 bowler in the world in Bumrah. He will be supported by spinners like Varun, Jadeja and by Kumar. This will be Kohli’s last tournament as a T20 captain and this will also be the last tournament for the likes of Ravi Shastri and the coaching staff. They will really like to go out with a tournament win that was lacking throughout their tenure.

Much depends on the start the top 3 can give and how the lower order is able to capitalise on that. Kohli’s form during the IPL was really a worry. Though he contributed a few fifties, it is the lack of thrust during his stay in the crease that will remain a spot of bother. In Pant, Hardik, Jadeja and Ishan, Kohli has some of the biggest hitters in the game. He will have to completely utilise their services.

The dark horses

New Zealand are a dark horse. Mainly because this is being played in UAE. Though they have decent spinners to exploit the pitches, they do not possess the batting ability of India or England. Having said that, New Zealand have always managed to punch above their weight. Under Williamson, they have become a formidable test side capable of challenging any team. Williamson is coming off a poor run with SRH when his team finished at the bottom. Pakistan is another dark horse because of their experience in playing on the slow pitches of UAE. Babar Azam and Rizwan will provide the thrust at the top of the order but I think their bowling will be a problem.

Will Australia be able to add the one missing trophy?

Australia, for whom this is the only trophy missing in the cupboard, how dearly would they like to add this to their glittering cupboard? Will it be possible? I don’t think so. I don’t think that they will be a force to reckon with. They do not have the personnel for T20 cricket. Steve Smith who is otherwise a colossus at the test arena has never really managed to transfer that form to the short formats. Be it ODI or T20. Maxwell is in reasonable form but they will struggle with their bowlers. Quality for this form of the game is missing in their ranks.

Rest of the teams

West Indies are just a shadow of the defending champion that they are. The fact that they still have Chris Gayle in the ranks is startling. He is above 40 and well past his best. They neither have the batsmen nor the bowlers to threaten any of the top teams. On the otherhand, if they can reach the semi-finals, they have a good chance.

As for the rest, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Scotland, Namibia, Bangladesh and South Africa, I do not expect anything from those teams. South Africa have a captain who does not even score at run a ball. This tournament will be tough for them.

Cricket T20 world cup preview conclusion

All in all, if the pitches are slow and low, India will have a massive advantage with their spinners and batsmen who are adept at playing slow bowlers. If the pitches are flat, England will emerge as the massive favourite because of their superior ball striking abilities. Being an Indian, my support will be for India. Other than India, I would like to see either New Zealand or South Africa to win the tournament.

Whom do you think will win the World cup? Please comment below.

The IPL 2021 Finals and Chennai Super Kings

Posted on 20 October 202129 December 2023 by Bobji

As expected, Chennai Super Kings have won the title. I had written in one of the previous blog that CSK will scrape through but they won rather convincingly. This was their 4^th title overall. Just one behind Mumbai. CSK really could have added a few more because they were part of 9 finals. It was an incredible achievement. Most of the CSK players are past their prime and quite a few of them are older than 37. Reflexes are bound to have come down a notch. Despite that they performed brilliantly throughout the tournament. Let me review the IPL 2021 finals and Chennai Super Kings.

Not much to write about KKR

Kolkatta Knight Riders were depended on their spinners, Varun and Narine, to a great extent. If they are nullified, the entire attack is insipid. The pitch for the finals was good for batting with absolutely no assistance either for the fast bowlers or for the spinners. The spinners didn’t have the impact that was expected of them. Venkatesh continued his impressive run with another 50. He may soon play for the Indian team atleast in the shortest format.

As expected, Morgan did not come up the order. Being the captain of an international team, he must have batted at number four but he didn’t. It did not reflect well on his confidence. Dinesh Karthik is certainly over the hill. It is time he bids adieu to the game and moved onto the commentary box. Aakash Chopra said,

“Although everything changed in the team, from their mindset to their approach, Morgan’s bad form did not change till the very last match. Even Dinesh Karthik’s form was missing. He even dropped catches.”

Nevertheless, from where they were during the first half to reach the final was an extraordinary achievement.

CSK were absolutely brilliant

The CSK batsmen were extremely confident when they came out to bat. They were positive right from the beginning.

Robin Uthappa played the spinners and in particular, Varun, pretty well. He had his game plan and was determined to hit Varun out of the attack. He managed to do that in spectacular style. How much did the KKR nets helped Uthappa against Varun will perhaps never bee known. Varun must have bowled all his variations to Uthappa at the nets. Uthappa used that experience to nullify the threat of Varun. Faf was brilliant. I must confess that after last year’s early exit, I really thought that Faf should not be part of the team any longer. He is old and his best days are certainly behind him. However, he proved me and doubters like me wrong. Just 3 runs separated him and Ruturaj for the most runs in the tournament.

Talking about Uthappa, CSK found their best middle order batsman at the right time. Raina wasn’t performing that well and he was replaced with Uthappa for the knockouts. Moeen Ali too had an excellent impact. For some reason, these discards from other teams perform pretty well when they are in CSK colours. Is that because of Dhoni or the franchise itself, we will never know.

It remains to be seen whom will the franchise retain in December. I expect Ruturaj, Dhoni and Jadeja to be retained. As for the rest, some will be bought back for certain.

The beautiful part of CSK winning the title was not the title itself. The franchise allowed the available family members to be part of the photo session. That shows how the franchise treats its players. I appreciate Mr. Srinivasan for this wonderful gesture.

The impact Ruturaj has had

Ruturaj really proved to be the game changer for CSK. Last year, when CSK went out well before the playoffs, Ruturaj played just a couple of games and that too after CSK never really had any chance to proceed to the playoffs. He showed his mettle even in that couple of games and he fulfilled the faith placed on him completely in 2021. He has already played a couple of T20s for India but didn’t have much impact. I am sure he will get his chance soon.

“I feel that he’s ready to play for the country. The way he has performed under pressure is commendable, even in the playoffs. He’s more of a Mahi bhai type of a person. He’s very calm and composed and works really hard,” said Raina.

What does the future hold for IPL?

It is time IPL allows all the teams to play a maximum of 6 foreigners. If not for all the games, they must be given an option of playing 6 foreigners in a maximum of 7 games. It is insane to see players like Steve Smith on the bench whereas some lesser players in the team play ahead of him. The franchises are free to choose which games do they have to play.

However, this being an Indian tournament, playoffs are off-limit and it must be restricted to a maximum of 4 because Indian cricketers must learn to play under pressure.

I take leave with Raina’s words

“We wanted to win it for Mahi Bhai. We wanted to win the trophy for the fans who were not able to come to watch us play in the stadium. It was a difficult phase and a lot of people supported us during that time. He just said ‘all the best’ and asked us to enjoy the game. The game is simple. When you have such a strong leader, then any player would wish to win for his team,” Raina added.

The cricketing world last week

Posted on 20 October 202129 December 2023 by Bobji

This week I have quite a few things to report. India perhaps have unearthed a fast bowler in Umraan Malik. David Warner was not treated well by his franchise. James Anderson training his sights on the biggest scalp in the Australian team. How was the cricketing world last week?

Let me start with Anderson training his sights on Smith

The Ashes which will get underway in about a couple of months, will test the resolve of perhaps the senior-most cricketer on the planet. James Anderson. He is 40 and still bowls with the same guile and skill. In the absence of fast bowlers like Archer, Stone & Stokes, the importance of Anderson has increased tremendously. With more than 600 wickets, there is lot of expectations on Anderson notwithstanding his age. His performances in Australia is not that great. He averages just over 3 wickets per test. 2017 Ashes was a disaster for Anderson. Four years down the lane, would he have improved? We will have to wait. Australian grounds, the climate and the crowd is bound to test the resolve of Anderson? Will he be able to measure up?

Having said that, Anderson is training his sights on the biggest scalp of all the Australian batsmen. Steven Smith.

Smith has proved to be Australia’s nemesis over the last couple of Ashes series. He amassed 647 runs in 2017 and a further 774 in 2019. His wicket eventhough not for cheap, atleast for a less score will ensure Australia do not runaway with the game. Anderson has had an excellent series against India. His renewed his rivalry with Kohli and came up trumps. He is confident of carrying the same spirit into the Ashes and against Smith.

“As a bowler you always look at the best player, and for me over the last three, four or five years, Steve Smith’s been Australia’s best player,” Anderson told Fox Cricket’s Road to the Ashes podcast. “He’s been the one they rely on for their volume of runs, obviously supported by guys around him like [David] Warner and [Marnus] Labuschagne recently. But he’s been their go-to in the last few years, so he’ll be the one that we will be keen to get out early.”

Tough Australian grounds

The first test will be at the Gabba, a ground where England have traditionally struggled. It is a wicket that supports fast bowlers who can hit the deck rather than seamers like Anderson. Hence, his task is really cutout.

Anderson’s biggest challenge will be his perseverance. Five tests over a period of 2 months on the tough Australian wickets, Australian heat and with a Kookaburra ball, will he be fit enough and effective enough until the final innings? That remains to be seen. England must rotate their bowlers. Otherwise, they will have serious problems. Anderson himself has said,

“The likelihood of playing all five at my age, to be honest at any age in Australia, [is slim].”

David Warner’s exit not handled properly?

Warner was dropped from captaincy as well as from the Sunrisers team itself after a couple of games in the UAE. Warner had led SRH to their only IPL title a few years ago. However, his failures in 2021 have ensured that he was out of the team. It is not clear whether he will be back with SRH during next year’s auction. He is certain that the franchise will not give him any explanation as to the reason he was dropped.

“The disappointing thing for me was not being explained why I was dropped as captain,” he said.

“I had four bad games, two run-outs in that, on slow and low wickets in Chennai. It’s difficult, a bitter pill to swallow but I don’t think I will ever get answers and must move on. It’s time to look forward, there’s another auction coming up. I’d love nothing more than to represent Sunrisers still, but the decision remains with the owners and what direction the franchise wants to go in.”

I do feel that Warner deserved better. He has had some fabulous years for the franchise and to repeat that he remains the only captain to win the IPL. Just a few poor games must not mean that he is dropped from both captaincy and from the team. One of Moody, Laxman, Murali or Bayliss must have explained the situation to him. He certainly deserved better.

Umraan Malik, the fast bowler

IPL may have unearthed one more fast bowler who may go onto represent India at the international level in the near future. Umraan Malik bowled at scorching pace in the last few games for SRH. It is another matter why he wasn’t given a chance right at the beginning. Everyone knows that Kohli loves fast bowlers and want to develop an attack based on fast bowlers. He must have been thrilled at the sight of Malik. It is not that India never had fast bowers. Various times during their career, Srinath, Bumrah, Shami, Irfan and Ishant have bowled in excess of 150 but have settled for around 143-145. Malik on the otherhand has bowled at 150KMPH consistently. Whether he will be able to bowl at that pace in a test match is a million dollar question.

If Malik is able to bowl at that pace and maintain a good line and length, he will add lot of value to the Indian bowling. It remains to be seen how the BCCI and the Indian team management protects Malik because genuine pace bowler is tough to find.

Previous week’s news can be read here and here.

IPL 2021 finals preview

Posted on 20 October 202129 December 2023 by Bobji

So, after close to 6 months, IPL 2021 will be completed tomorrow at The UAE. Forced to move out of India after the Covid surge in May, IPL shifted to UAE and the BCCI managed to complete the remaining set of games without much problem. Two teams, though not both of them deserve to be in the final. Chennai Super Kings had a fabulous run during the league discounting the bad run during the last phase and Kolkatta Knight Riders, who were placed at the bottom before shifting to UAE will face off to decide the winner of IPL 2021. CSK have won the title 3 times and KKR twice. It remains to be seen whether CSK will be able to increase their tally to 4 and KKR to 3. May the best team win. Let me try to analyse the finals in this IPL 2021 finals preview.

Players to watch out for

Venkatesh Iyer, the man who turned things around for KKR at the top of the order. He is one of the player that rejuvenated KKR’s faltering campaign. 320 runs in 9 games with 3 fifties. That is as good a return as anyone can expect. His wicket at the top is crucial for CSK to make inroads in the lineup. Venkatesh has an MBA in finance and is a hardcore fan of Rajinikanth.

He has got just a handful of games at the first class level. Now, with the achievements, he has made the Indian cricketing establishment to look at him. So much so that with his medium pace bowling, he has been added to the Indian WC T20 squad as a net bowler. For someone who is used to the corporate job, this is a gigantic leap forward. Michael Hussey had this to say about Venkatesh after the win against Delhi.

“He struck the ball superbly from ball one. Some of those big sixes he hit actually changed the tempo of the game and got us into a winning position. He’s just a class player at the top. He is tall, a Stephen Fleming clone, I believe. He’s got a big future in the game.”

The emergence of another opener

Ruturaj Gaikwad is another who has set the batting in flames during the tournament. He has been at his fluent best in both India and UAE. Infact, CSK struggled last year, when he was stuck with Covid and couldn’t find a spot in the team until all was lost. This year, at the top of the order, he has not only provided the initial thrust but by batting for most part of the innings has also showed direction the team. Ruturaj is the only batsman apart from Devdutt to score a hundred this season.

The finals may well turnout to be a direct contest between Ruturaj and Venkatesh as to who provides their team the best possible start.

Which is a better balanced team?

On paper CSK looks not only the better balanced team but a better all-around team. Apart from Venkatesh and the spin twins of Narine and Varun, KKR does not have much to worry CSK. The form of Morgan, Karthik is not a cause to rejoice. In Hazlewood, Jadeja and Shardul, CSK have bowlers who can pose a challenge to the KKR batsmen and in Ruturaj, Faf, Rayudu and Uthappa, they have the batsmen to play the main threat of Narine and Varun rather effortlessly.

Players who are a cause of worry for their team

This will easily be Dhoni for CSK and Morgan for KKR. Dhoni’s days are over. Yes, he played a match winning innings against Delhi in the first playoff but those days are few and far between. He struggle against spin is quite well known and KKR have 2 good spinners in their ranks. If KKR can manage to bring in Dhoni to the middle quite early, they can control the game from there on by bringing in the spinners to bowl in tandem. If this happens, KKR will runaway with the trophy. Dhoni will do well do delay his arrival at the crease until towards the last 2-3 overs.

As for Morgan, the fact that he came at number 6 in the second qualifier does not speak highly about his form. Here is an international captain and one of the main batsman in his side walking in at an IPL game so low down the order, does not inspire much confidence. Even for England, Morgan bats at number 5 and that is only because of the fire power before him. Finals, Morgan will have to come up the order to provide stability and thrust to the lower order. He will have to do deal with the spin threat of Jadeja and Moeen and must not leave it to the others who may struggle on a slow pitch.

Battle of spinners

KKR certainly have much better spinners than CSK. Narine and Varun have not only been economical but have taken wickets at crucial times. Kohli, AB and Maxwell were contained by these two in the first eliminator. If that is anything to go by, even the likes of Ruturaj and Rayudu will find the going tough. If CSK can successfully counter these spinners by not losing too many wickets, they will have had one hand on the trophy.

Who has the capacity to win?

I believe CSK have most of the bases covered to win the IPL 2021. They had good top order and a solid middle order together with the flamboyance of Jadeja and Shardul at the lower order. Hazlewood, Deepak, Jadeja and Bravo can be depended on to bowl economically. All CSK must do is prevent KKR from a good start and they can set the ball rolling. As for KKR, their best bet is apart from the spinners and Venkatesh, will be the captaincy of Morgan. He is uses the spinners carefully, he can dictate the game.

All said and done, I expect CSK to just scrape through.

By the time you read this, the finals will be over. Let me see whether my analysis stands the test of time.

Kohli and his legacy with RCB

Posted on 20 October 202129 December 2023 by Bobji

So, one more IPL year, one more failure. The Royal Challengers Bangalore despite 14 years of playing in the IPL is yet to win a tournament. Leave alone the tournament, they have qualified the finals only twice. This despite the fact that Kohli, De Villiers have played for most of the time. In 2021, RCB were bolstered by Maxwell and Harshal Patel. None of these players were able to help RCB win the tournament for the first time. What about Kohli himself? What will his legacy be with RCB? Let me try to analyse Kohli and his legacy with RCB.

Kohli has announced that the 2021 season will be his last as captain of RCB. He has also said that he will continue to play for RCB till he retires from all forms of the game. This is understandable. Afterall, he wants to contribute to his favourite franchise as long as he can.

“As I said, I don’t see myself playing anywhere else. To me loyalty matters more than other things which, from the worldly point of view, seem more important. This franchise has believed in me and my commitment is to this franchise till the last day I play the IPL.”

Perhaps not a rosy legacy

However, it is as captain that his legacy will be defined. I am afraid that legacy will not be that rosy to read.

Kohli replaced Daniel Vettori as the skipper of RCB back in 2013. Since then, he led the side over 9 seasons and 140 games. No other captain except for Dhoni has led a team over these many seasons. Atleast in the case of Dhoni, he won 3 tournaments and CSK have reached the 9^th finals in 12 editions but in the case of Kohli he wasn’t able to win even one. It really is a surprise that he was allowed to continue as captain despite not a single tournament win.

All I can say is that I’ve given my best. I don’t know how the response has been to that, but I can vouch for the fact that I’ve given my 120% to this franchise every year, leading the team.

“And as I said, I will continue to give that effort on the field as a player from now on. It’s a great time to regroup, restructure the franchise for the next three years, and bring in people who can take this culture and this franchise to the next level, moving forward.”

Lack of support lower down the order

There is absolutely no doubt in the fact that Kohli gave his everything to the franchise. As a batsman. It was as a skipper where he wasn’t able to add much value. The franchise always were few players short. Both batsmen or bowlers. Previous years, the team leaned heavily on Kohli and De Villiers to score bulk of the runs. Their bowling attack was pretty weak with Siraj, Chahal and Saini proving to be exceptionally liberal. The lack of depth in the batting order was another major concern.

Beyond Kohli and De Villiers, there wasn’t anyone to stabilise the innings or to provide impetus to the innings. This is something that must have been corrected during the auction. RCB must have invested money on bowlers who can also bat but they didn’t. What is the point in investing more than 14Crores on Jamieson who hardly had a role to play? That was such a wasted investment. This was where Kohli really did not succeed.

Failed at the auction

He knew most of the current players. He has played against Jamieson and should have known that Jamieson will not be much effective either in India or UAE. Kohli, ideally must have directed his franchise not to invest so much on Jamieson who will not get that many games anyway. The 2021 team was never balanced and they were sent packing in the playoffs and rightly so.

RCB got lucky with Maxwell’s selection. With Kohli’s bad form and AB not being at his usual best, much was left to Maxwell. Added to that, the lower order of Christian, Garton, Chahal, Siraj and Harshal are absolutely hopeless with the bat. They hardly contribute with the bat. So much so that all the opponents will have to do is make them stand in a line and bowl just one delivery to all of them. No wonder RCB weren’t able to post huge totals or chase big totals because there was absolutely no confidence on the lower order.

This could have been mitigated if only the franchise had purchased better. For that Kohli and Mike Hesson will have to cope the blame. They backed the wrong players and that showed throughout the campaign.

Gambhir was correct

“You have got to be instinctive and ahead of the game. Yes, you would see the passion and energy but that’s not enough to win you trophies. You got to be a good tactician as well [who knows] when to do what.”

None of these would have mattered to me because I am not a fan of IPL. My only worry is that with a World Cup starting in about 2 weeks, Kohli’s lack of a trophy win is what I am really concerned about. Whether he will carry this onto the world cup too?

I am not here to criticise Kohli but just to remark that his RCB legacy will forever remain unfulfilled.

However, Kohli found support amongst Gavaskar and AB who had nice words for Kohli at the end of his tenure.

“It certainly is (disappointing). Everybody wants to finish on a high. Individually, you want to finish on a high. But these things don’t always happen according to what you wish or your fans wish. The script is not always written that way. Not everybody has this great fortune of going on a high.”

AB De Villiers

You’ve had a much bigger impact than you will ever understand. There are stories that you don’t even hear of people’s lives that you have touched not only on the cricket field but away from it as well by making people believe in themselves. I think that’s much more important than a trophy, which I still believe will come your way.”

Let us hope that AB’s words comes true in the immediate future.

Should Kohli be replaced as captain?

England’s Ashes squad is predictable

Posted on 20 October 202129 December 2023 by Bobji

So, the Ashes series will go ahead. England will be sending their best squad to Australia in an attempt to regain the Ashes. Australian environs have not been so kind to England after the heroics of 2011. Infact, the England team were not only annihilated but they were demoralised. It is so strange that Joe Root will be leading a team to Australia one more time after the last debacle.

The 2013 Ashes series

This was the Mitchell Johnson series. No one, absolutely no one from the English side had any answer to the fury and ferocious pace unleashed by Johnson. If the top order weren’t able to negotiate Johnson what chance did the lower order had? None. Such was the dominance of Johnson. Kevin Pietersen offered a semblance of resistance but the rest just caved in. Couple of careers were finished. Jonathan Trott was so at sea against the Aussie bowlers that he did not even wait until the end of the series. He retired after the first test. Swann midway. The England batsmen did not know whether to save their heads or their toes. Johnson attacked both.

Backed up by captain Clarke, he was at his lethal best throughout the series. It is one thing to be able to bowl at great pace in a test but to bowl with the same pace and intensity right through 5 games, speaks volumes about Johnson’s fitness. England’s bowlers weren’t effective at all and the Australian batsmen made mincemeat of them. To be fair to England, even the best West Indian or South African sides would have struggled against the bowling of Mitchell Johnson in that series.

The 2017 Ashes series

Mitchell Johnson blew England away in 2013 and they weren’t able to negotiate Ryan Harris any better. Valid reasons ofcourse but what happened in 2017 was unfathomable. Here was an Australian team ripe for the taking. However, what transpired on the field was quite to the contrary. England lost 0-4. Australia weren’t that good a side in 2017 and it was really a shock that England weren’t competitive throughout the series.

The 2021 Ashes series

So much of the same England side that lost 0-4 in 2017 will return to Australia looking to make amends. The same bowlers who weren’t effective last time around will once again travel to Australia with the exception of Mark Wood. Compounding matters, they are all 4 years older. Australian wickets need bowlers who can hit the deck. England have only one. Mark Wood. His fitness is of concern though. In the absence of Archer, Stone and possibly Stokes, England will have to depend on Anderson, Broad and Woakes to put the Aussie batsmen under pressure. A task they did not manage last time around.

Nasser Hussain is not particularly pleased with the selection

“England have picked a very predictable Ashes squad, avoiding selecting any uncapped players and refusing to take any kind of risk. The two surprises for me were overlooking Saqib Mahmood and Matt Parkinson. Saqib would have given a different element to the attack in Australian conditions with his skiddy reverse swing, in the absence of the pace of Jofra Archer and Olly Stone.”

Saqib Mahmood who could have been the replacement for Archer has been left behind. The pressure on Joe Root will be much greater. He is the only England batsman who is in form and who is capable of handling the Aussie bowlers. Australian grounds, pitches and the crowd are unforgiving.

This tour will perhaps to be last for quite a few English players. Sibley, Bairstow, Crawley, Malan, Hameed, Buttler, Lawrence, all these players have got lot to prove. They have not had a decent series in a longtime. Buttler especially must justify his position in the team. Far too much has been invested on him but except for one game against Pakistan, he does not have much to showcase.

News from around the cricketing world 2

Posted on 9 October 202129 December 2023 by Bobji

I just want to continue with this series in providing news from around the cricketing world 2. I want to concentrate on the important news and pass a little bit of judgement. England players are close to agreeing to tour Australia for the Ashes. However, travel within Australia is confusing. Dhoni may finally retire from all forms of cricket. BCCI is targeting more tournaments. Michael Holding is really furious with the ICC. These are the topics that I am going to write about this week.

England players may travel to Australia

After weeks of uncertainty, the English players, the top ones have perhaps agreed to travel to Australia for the Ashes. Ashes being pre-eminent series between any 2 teams cannot afford a second-string England team. CA seems to have agreed not to enforce the players and their families into hard quarantine who were not involved in the T20 World Cup. It does not really make much sense because most of Ashes first choice players will be part of the England T20 squad. Good thing is that there are certain Test specialists like Anderson, Broad and Root who will not be required to be under hard quarantine.

The only players who are part of the T20 WC squad who will have problem will be Wood and Bairstow because the rest of the squad members are limited overs specialists and as such will not be required to travel. Hopefully, things will be clear by the middle of this month.

In the meanwhile, things aren’t that rosy in Australia. There are lot of restrictions even for the common folk in Australia to travel between states. This has had a serious impact on the Sheffield Shield games with Lyon, Pucovski and few other test cricketers unable to play a game. They may probably play in the Ashes without much match practice. Travel restrictions is not expected to improve atleast until the end of November.

Dhoni may finally retire

It has been a long road for MS Dhoni. He retired from international cricket more than 4 years ago but continued to be part of the CSK franchise. He has played for CSK for 12 years and have captained that team for all those years. At the turn of next year, Dhoni will be 41 and not much left in the tank. Frankly, his batting has become the subject of ridicule. Neither is he able to rotate the strike nor is he able to hit. As soon as Dhoni walks in, every captain brings on a spinner and Dhoni as expected struggles. We have seen his batting digress even before he retired. He has carried on for too long.

“When it comes to farewell, you can still come and see me play for CSK and that can be my farewell game. So, you will still get that opportunity to bid me farewell. Hopefully, you will come to see me in Chennai when I play my last game over there and I can meet the fans there.”

It means that he will retire in 2022 at Chennai expecting the IPL 2022 to be played in India. Let us wait and watch.

BCCI wants to host more tournaments

The Indian board wants to host more tournaments after the World Cup 2023. It makes sense. It is the Indian crowd that pumps in money into the game. If not for India, the game will be struggling. It is not wrong for the BCCI to host more tournaments so that they earn out of it.

Michael Holding is angry with ICC

The ICC, which is the custodian of the game at the international level is nothing more than an event management company. These are the words of Michael Holding. The great bowler of the West Indian era and a respected commentator.

“The ICC right now are a production company. They manage their events, make a lot of money from their events, but they do not manage the game. What they are trying to do is manage the money that the game can bring in, not the game – and that is very disappointing.”

I have to agree with Holding because ICC as an international body have never stood up for anything. Whatever the individual boards decide, ICC will not even question them. There are so many instances. In all the cases, ICC have stood as a mute spectator. If the board is powerful like India or England and Australia, ICC becomes a toothless tiger. Take the case of DRS. India delayed its implementation for games involving India for so long that the ICC weren’t able to do anything. When the big 3 formed their own grouping, the ICC stoodby and watched.

I will try to write a separate blog about the ineffectiveness of ICC.

These are the important topics from around the world over this week.

Part 1 of news from around the Indian cricket world

Australian cricketers must stop their lecture

Posted on 9 October 202129 December 2023 by Bobji

Ashes 2021. Will it go ahead or will it be cancelled? This is a question that is haunting the Australian Cricket Board over the last few months. Cricket Australia will lose 200mil dollars if the Ashes is cancelled. That is a loss that will take sometime to overcome. CA and ECB are involved in intense behind the door discussion to ease the path for the English players to be able to travel to Australia. A full strength English squad. Now, some of the Australian players have got into the act. It is time Australian cricketers must stop their lecture.

Insensitive comments

“There’ll be a squad of England players coming here and the First Test will be starting on December 8,” Paine said.

“The Ashes are going ahead. The First Test is on December 8th – whether Joe is here or not. They all want to come, there‘s no doubt about that. It’ll be worked out above us and then they’ll have a choice whether to get on that plane or not.

“No one is forcing any England player to come. That’s the beauty of the world we live in – you have a choice. If you don’t want to come, don’t come.”

These are the words of the loud mouthed skipper Tim Paine. This is not only arrogant but downright disrespectful to the England players. Paine does not seem to realise that England have been on the road during this pandemic for much longer than Australia have ever been.

Yes this is the fact. England have been involved in 18 tests spanning across 4 countries in 2 continents. How many tests have Australia and in particular Tim Paine been involved in? Just 4. All of them against India and at home. Tim Paine is yet to travel out of Australia since the onset of the pandemic. He is not part of the limited overs squad either and is not invited by any franchise to play for them in any of the innumerable leagues around the world.

Time Paine was brought into the side as captain to provide some sense of calm to the proceedings. However, he seems to be going the other way. Remember his rants to Ashwin during the Sydney test? “Can’t wait to get you to Gabba, Ash”. Ultimately, he was left with egg on his face in that India won at the Gabba handsomely. He would do well to stop talking and understand the situation and the pressure the English players are under. Some bit of empathy will do well.

Malcolm Conn writes in The Dailymail,

It is not unusual for England’s cricketers to suffer severe bouts of Departure Lounge Syndrome on Ashes tours.

It often starts after a first Test flogging in hot and steamy Brisbane then drags on through the weeks of a five-Test roasting.

The hangdog look, the whinging about the beer being too cold and the weather too hot, the pitches too hard and the Kookaburra balls too soft.

All of these in response to what Pietersen and Vaughan tweeted for the Ashes be cancelled.

“Read reports today that England cricketers may not be able to have family members with them down under this winter, quite simply if they can’t they should call the Ashes off,” Vaughan wrote.

“4 months away from your family is totally unacceptable.”

“Any ENG player that pulls out of this Ashes, if they seriously can’t see their families for FOUR MONTHS, has my full backing,” Pietersen wrote.

England does not have any cause to be apologetic about

England can be proud of themselves. They have conducted themselves really well over these last 20 months. Rotating their players and sometimes controversially too and have ensured that they get the spend time with their families. Yes, they did cancel a series in Pakistan but that was not because of Covid. It was security related and any team would have done the same.

What needs to be done is a sense of calm must prevail and let the respective boards negotiate. There is far too much hysteria at the moment. ECB on their part must talk to their players and get confirmation as to who is willing to travel and select them to travel. Surely, ECB will want Root to travel because he is the captain and the most important batsman. Already England are without the services of Stokes, Archer & Stone. They cannot afford to lose Joe.

For Joe to be in a good place mentally, he must know and know now who are the players he will be taking with him. Once they are selected, they must give 100% to the cause. There isn’t two ways about it. The task in Australia is going to be extremely difficult. England do not have the resources to dethrone Australia whose bowling is far superior to that of England. Now, the pressure will increase tremendously because of the English’s players refusal to tour.

Let us hope that better sense prevails.

Review India vs Australia women

Posted on 9 October 202126 October 2021 by Bobji

The Indian women added one more feather to the cap. It was a brilliant performance. The team has come a long way. They are improving in every game and in every series. All of these augurs well for the women in the country. We may finally see the raise of women’s cricket in the country. The performance of the women in the first test will help in that aspect. Let me try to review India vs Australia women.

First let me review and game and later I will raise certain points that shows the sad state of affairs for women’s cricket.

About the test

The highlight of the Indian innings was Smriti Mandhana’s brilliant innings. She became the top scorer for any visiting team. She is in her twenties with the world as her oyster. Shefali Verma, the teenager continues to impress everyone. She is proving to be a dynamite at the top of the order. The biggest surprise was however the omission of Sneh Rana. She was the one who saved the test against England just a few months ago. Now, she finds herself out of the team. Her replacement Deepti Sharma did not disappoint either. With 66 and a couple of wickets it was a wonderful performance. It perhaps shows the depth of women’s cricket in this country.

The consoling part of the game, from an Indian’s perspective was certainly the huge first innings lead. No one would have expected this. It was brilliant performance by the Indian bowlers with all of them contributing with wickets. The only reason Australia declared was because they did not wanted to be embarrassed by being bowled out well below the Indian score.

With Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami not expected to be around for too long, these young players are the future for Indian cricket.

Gains for India

Overall, the gains for India from this test was significant. Not the least is confidence. First test in Australia after 15 years. Pink Ball. Day and night test. The ball was expected to move around under lights. Australia playing at home and having been used to playing with the pink ball. Almost everything stacked against the Indian women but they came out of it unscathed. If you had expected the Indian women to struggle against the pink ball, you will be forgiven.

On the contrary, not only did they bat well but Smriti, Shefali & Punam batted exceptionally to give a solid platform. Australia did not have any response to the top order and once India crossed 200 with just 2 wickets lost, Australia were left to catch up. When Australia were batting, the Indian bowlers kept things tight. They maintained constant pressure. Easy runs weren’t given which would have eased the pressure and wickets fell in frequent intervals.

Lack of opportunities

Despite the merging of both men and women associations, throughout the world, the women’s game hasn’t seen any major improvement. The fact of the matter is that the women cricketers never got their due. Players like Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami have been around for 20 years. Yet, they have played only about 12 tests. Whether the English and Aussie women have played more games? No, they have not. Slightly better than their Indian counterparts.

No DRS

What was however more shocking was a couple of things. One was that the women’s game does not have DRS. This is nonsense. Infact, this is not at all acceptable. On the one hand, we have the International Olympic Committee making it mandatory for every sports body under its umbrella to unite both the men’s and women’s association and here we have the ICC that does not want to treat the women’s game as equal to the men’s. Every team have embraced the concept of DRS. Even the Indian team who after their initial reluctance have accepted. However, for some reason, the ICC does not want to implement the same rules for the women. If the games can be televised live, having DRS as part of the game must be possible too.

ICC cannot think about money all the time. Agreed, atleast for now, that women do not command viewership but that does not mean that even the basics of the game must be denied to them. It is time ICC treats women with respect and introduces or makes it mandatory for DRS to be used in all the games.

CA said that originally it had been hoped to have the system for the India tour, but Covid-related logistical challenges meant it wasn’t possible.

I wonder whether Cricket Australia would have given the same excuse if the men were involved? Leave alone India, they would not have left any stone unturned if it meant the Australian men were to play Sri Lankan or West Indies men.

Test over 4 days

Second, is the concept of 4-day tests. Until the recent series, I never knew that women “tests” are 4 days affair. When someone hears the word “test”, it has always meant 5 days. It does not really matter whether the men are playing or the women are playing. Tests must be over 5 days. It was really strange to find that women tests are over 4 days only. I really do not know who makes the rules at ICC but that one must be sacked immediately.

The women cricketers too must raise their voice against these gross injustice.

How India would have loved to have that extra day. They were far ahead and you never know. India could have won the test.

News from around the Indian cricket world

Posted on 2 October 202129 December 2023 by Bobji

Ashwin was involved in one other controversy. Virat Kohli has resigned T20 captaincy. Indian selectors will shortly be involved in choosing a captain for that format alone. Ravi Shastri’s tenure is likely to come to an end. IPL is throwing up some serious talent. This post is about news from around the Indian cricket world. I am not going to get into deep analysis but I will stick to supplying the information with a little bit of comment from my side.

Let me begin with Ashwin

Ashwin is amongst the news whether he is playing or more so when he is not playing. Throughout the England series, Ashwin’s stature grew to historical proportions. Anyone and everyone had an opinion on whether Ashwin should have played in all of the tests or some of the tests. English and Indian commentators were equally shocked to see Ashwin’s name missed out in the first test and from thereon, the chorus to bring back Ashwin only got louder.

He is cultivating huge fan following through his YouTube videos. The “Kutti Story” segment itself has garnered more than a million views but he isn’t that careful when releasing the video.

A couple of years ago, Ashwin was involved in “Mankading” during one of the IPL games and justified his action. I still believe that Ashwin was correct on this instance. Mankading a non-striker must be made the norm rather than an exception. It must not be treated like a taboo.

What was the fresh incident?

Now, Ashwin was involved in going for a run after the ball had hit the batsman. Ashwin has claimed that he didn’t know that the ball had hit Pant but insisted that even if he knew, he would still run because the rules allowed it. This incident has invited sharp criticism from many around the world with the most powerful coming from Shane Warne.

The world shouldn’t be divided on this topic and Ashwin,” he tweeted.

“It’s pretty simple – it’s disgraceful and should never happen.

Morgan and Southee have called Ashwin a “disgrace to the game”. Now, what do I think about this? It has been a tradition not to run once the ball hits one of the batsman. This tradition has been respected by every player around the world even at the local league games. At the highest level, this is not just tradition but a doctrine itself. Whereas Ashwin was correct in the earlier instance of “Mankading” Buttler, he was certainly wrong on this one. Yes, rules do allow you to run in such cases but when something has been followed religiously for so many years, he must have followed the same. To make a mistake is human. He must have had the good grace of accepting his mistake and try not to repeat it. Instead, Ashwin went on a tirade.

“In Morgan or Southee’s world of cricket they can choose and stick to what they believe is right or wrong but do not have the right to take a moral high ground and use words that are derogatory,” Ashwin said.

Sorry Ashwin, you were wrong. It is time you start accepting that you are not always correct.

Virat Kohli and captaincy

It has finally happened. Kohli has decided that he has had enough and has resigned captaincy from one format only. After the World T20, he will not be the captain for the Indian T20 side as well as for his franchise Royal Challengers. This is, especially the RCB one, is longtime coming. It is really a surprise that he was allowed to be the captain for 8 years despite not winning the tournament even once. Nonetheless, the franchise will have to start the search for a new captain. That is not my concern however because I am more focussed on Indian cricket. I for one firmly believe that not only T20, Kohli must have given up limited overs captaincy itself. ODI & T20. He has had a long stint but does not have a silverware to show for his efforts.

It would have been even better if he had left before the T20 WC. Nevertheless, better late than never.

The replacement is quite obvious. It will have to be Rohit Sharma. He has proved his credentials by winning 2 tournaments where he was the captain. Asia Cup & Nidahas Trophy. The selectors must not be tempted to give the captaincy to youngsters like Pant or Rahul. Their time will come but it is not now.

Ravi Shastri’s tenure will end

At the end of the T20 WC, Ravi Shastri has decided not to seek his contract to be extended. One only wishes that India wins the T20 World Cup and thereby Shastri goes out on a high. He has had some memorable wins during his tenure. I will write a separate piece once he leaves. For now, Dravid and Dhoni seems to be the front runners. I for one do not want Dhoni anywhere near the Indian team. Him being is mentor is downright wrong. He destroyed the Indian team during his tenure. Yes, I am aware that a majority will not agree. Dravid is doing a fabulous job with the youngsters and he must continue with that. Perhaps it is time to venture out to the foreign locations once again.

IPL throwing up some players

Venkatesh Iyer, Arshdeep Singh have now become household name after their exploits in the 2021 IPL. Iyer has really been a revelation. His innings at the top of the order together with his useful bowling is a much sought after combination by the Indian team. Manjrekar reckons that Iyer will fetch more than 10 crores in next year’s auction.

“I’m thinking 12-14 crores, because this is not a kind of a fluke show. I was looking at his First-Class numbers and his List A record is outstanding.”

Arshdeep, the Punjab seamer is impressive if not outstanding. He is young and he seems to possess ability. Ofcourse, he will have to add some muscle to his body and much needed pace. Left arm fast bowler will be a great asset to the Indian team but he has a long way to go. Sehwag thinks highly of him.

“Arshdeep is a very fine bowler and if he continues to work hard and perform like this, he would surely make it to Team India someday,” he added.