Author: Bobji

The tenure of Rahul Dravid

Posted on by Bobji

The tenure of Rahul Dravid if it weren’t for the last 8 months, Dravid’s tenure as the coach of the Indian team would have been dismal. It will not be an understatement to state that the last 8 months, saved Dravid’s legacy as a coach. For that, he will have to thank Rohit Sharma as he himself admitted. Overall, the last 3 years, being the coach of the Indian team was sort of a mixed bag. For someone who won series in England and West Indies as the captain, this was a big letdown.

At the end of his first term, I firmly believed that Dravid’s position has become untenable. In 2 years, he did not really have any achievement worth shouting about. On the contrary, there are multiple failures under him. Except for that one series win against Australia, on some questionable pitches, his CV will not make for a good reading. I expected him to resign as soon as the final was lost but he didn’t. I also hoped that the BCCI was not thinking of extending his contract.

Dravid thanks Rohit Sharma

“Ro, thank you very much for making that call to me in November and asking [me] to continue,”

“I think it’s been such a privilege and a pleasure to work with each and every one of you, but Ro, also thanks for the time. There is a lot of time we have to chat, we have to discuss, we have to agree, we have to disagree at times, but thank you so very much.”

The various reverses under Dravid

Under Dravid, India won the T20 World Cup, reached the final of the ODI World Cup, defeated England comprehensively and defeated Australia, rather methodically. There were several reverses under him. The failure to win a series in South Africa. Remember, he was the first Indian captain to win a Test in South Africa against a much stronger South African side. When faced with a depleted side, India still couldn’t come out triumphant. This is something that will rankle him. There were other reversals too, mainly the twin T20 World Cups in UAE and Australia which was more of a shellacking. The lone Test loss in England. A win there would have meant a series win after 15 years. India were in a good position going into the final Test which was postponed.

They probably underestimated the power of Bazball and didn’t plan for it as England won in a canter.

A team full of confidence

Ofcourse, I am not placing the entire blame on Dravid for all the losses. One must understand that Ravi Shastri handed over a team with a good bowling lineup and players who did not know the meaning of defeat until the final ball was bowled or final wicket was taken. Shastri was also the coach of the team that won two successive series in Australia, an extraordinary achievement by any standards especially considering the fact that only South Africa has won more than one series in Australia in 25 years. His team was leading in England 2-1 when he decided to step away.

The confidence within the team was unbelievable. Either the players lost steam or the management of Rohit Sharma, Dravid, Kohli and Rahul were unable to inspire to even greater heights. The fact will remain that Dravid was unable to make the next giant leap. He had almost the same players at his disposal that Shastri had. Shastri left a extremely good Test side and a white-ball team with an impressive overall record.

Dravid’s management

Anyway, that was in the past. To his credit, Dravid was protective of the players while in public. He defended them with everything that he could. The players felt comfortable and that could be the main reason Rohit Sharma wanted him to continue for one more year. He embraced change with conviction. When India were outplayed by England in the T20 World Cup, everyone mocked the method that the team employed. Saving wickets and waiting for the final overs.

They were playing the game of the 80s. Dravid and the team management felt the need to change the way they approached white-ball cricket. In this, he had an ally in Rohit Sharma who was more than willing to move away from his natural game. The fresh approach at the top and in the middle paved the way for some imposing totals and belligerent cricket. It all culminated in the 2024 victory.

“Honestly, this is a journey of two years,” he said. “This is not a journey from just this T20 World Cup. When I think about the construction of this team, the kind of skills we wanted, the players we wanted, those discussions started in [November] 2021.

“So it’s two years of work. This is not a work of just this World Cup. I think it culminated in this World Cup. The disappointment in Australia [at the 2022 T20 World Cup] and then the one-day World Cup – there’s so much that has gone into it. This feels like a journey of not just one month, it feels like a journey of two years. What we’ve tried to build, what we have tried to create, it feels like it has all come together here on a beautiful afternoon in Barbados.”

Wrapping up the tenure of Rahul Dravid

I cannot say that Dravid’s tenure was a great success. I would not be honest with myself if I said that. However, I can easily state that he redeemed himself in the last year with few exceptional wins including the T20 World Cup. Has Dravid left a better side for the next coach? Only time will be answer for that.

Other blogs about Dravid

https://icricketcritique.com/rahul-dravid-and-the-magical-innings/
https://icricketcritique.com/rahul-dravids-announcement-is-heart-warming/
https://icricketcritique.com/indian-teams-request-and-dravids-refusal/
https://icricketcritique.com/rahul-dravid-is-still-trusting-rahul/
https://icricketcritique.com/dravid-does-not-always-make-sense/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-game-itself-and-rahul-dravids-position/

The World Cup win

Posted on by Bobji

The celebration of the coach Rahul Dravid said it all. Exactly 17 years ago, with Dravid as the captain of the Indian team, India was sent packing in the first round itself which included a loss to a weak Bangladesh team. The entire world saw tears flowing from the eyes of the captain. It was a moment that weakened the hearts of every Indian because Dravid was a much liked cricketer. It was really tough to see but that is how the game moves. Dravid was a crestfallen cricketer on that day. He may not have imagined that he will get a chance to rewrite his own experience 17 years down the line. That is exactly what happened. The World Cup win will remain a special moment in Dravid’s career. He wasn’t part of any of the Indian team that won any of the World Cup.

At the end of a not so successful tenure as coach, more of that in another article, he finally managed to be a part of the winning World Cup team. It was Kohli who handed over the trophy to Dravid and what happened after that was a revelation for all of us. Dravid belted out a fierce and a powerful roar that the tigers and lions would be proud of. The frustration that had built up inside him, found a way to be let out. It was a moment that revealed what it meant to win a World Cup not just for Dravid but for the entire team who have often come too close to being pipped at the last minute.

Making amends for the ODI World Cup

7 months ago, the nation wore a dejected look after having lost a golden opportunity to win the ODI World Cup despite being the best team in the league phase. Now, they got an opportunity to make amends which the team did admirably. Ofcourse, there is a school of thought that an ODI World Cup win has a sort of fulfilment that a T20 World Cup win does not. Perhaps because T20 finishes in a little more than 3 hours whereas the ODI takes more than 8 hours and as such is much more satisfying. Nevertheless, a World Cup is a World Cup. For now, India can claim that they are the World Champions. It has been a remarkable 12 months for India having reached the final in all the 3 World events. The WTC final, the ODI Final and now, the T20 final. It is exceptionally incredible consistency.

In the process, India also became the first team to win a T20 World Cup without losing a single game. Australia used to boast of such performances when they went more than 2 ODI World Cups without losing a single game. Can India match that performance? Only time can tell. For now, let us all bask in the glory of the win.

A familiar pattern followed

If one looks closer, a familiar pattern followed in the World Cup. Just like how India went into a nothing mood in the ODI World Cup, they threatened to do the same here as well. If we have to compare the two finals, India started briskly in both the game with Rohit playing shots only he could and this time, Kohli playing freely. Then, 3 quick wickets applies brakes on the scoring and the scorecard remained standstill throughout the innings. At the ODI World Cup, Kohli remained strokeless for a large part in the middle overs. To make matters worse, he was joined by KL Rahul whose feet were glued to the crease.

To exacerbate, the innings was made worse by Jadeja’s innings without any purpose. As a result, for more than 20 overs, not a single boundary was hit. It proved to be the difference between posting more than 300 and ending up with less than 250.

Much the same could be said for the T20 finals too. Again, Kohli went into his shell but this time, it wasn’t Rahul at the other end. It was Axar Patel who played an innings that he will remember for the rest of his life. It was brilliant batting. He was aware that Kohli was stagnating and that the onus was on him to increase the scoring rate. A strike rate of 156 and a personal score of 47 ensured that the middle overs were not wasted in mindless slugfest. It eased the pressure on Kohli. It was Axar’s innings that proved to be the difference between an inadequate 140+ to a par score. The fact that he is at ease at number 5 is a bonus for the team. It gives a great flexibility in choosing the correct players.

Surya’s catch

This was easily the catch of the tournament. Nowadays, YouTube is full of such catches throughout the world but what makes this catch outstanding was the sheer presence of mind on the part of Surya. With 16 runs required of 6 balls, the pressure was on both the sides. One hit for a six, South Africa would have won easily. A wicket, it was advantage India. The margin was exceptionally thin. Under such circumstances, Surya had a great presence of mind. First of all, to run all the way from wide long-on to long-on was laudable. He stretched himself to catch the ball and threw it in the air only get his balance correct and catch it again.

99 out of 100 times, fielders would have been satisfied with keeping the ball in play. It would have been perfectly alright for Surya to just throw the ball in and keep it in play so that a boundary was saved and the batsmen kept to a couple of runs. He didn’t think like that. He must have thought that the wicket of David Miller at that stage meant curtains for South Africa and didn’t want to let go of the opportunity. It showed great cricketing intellect.

Hardik Pandya & Bumrah

The two stalwarts of the win. Bumrah played with the mind of the batsmen to such an extent that the opponents were not playing the ball but were playing the bowler. You could see from the fact of Marco Jansen who expected to get out anytime. Bumrah should have been both the player of the game and the player of the tournament. Such was his impact.

Hardik Pandya threw away months of frustration aside and contributed in the major victory. His wicket of Klassen was crucial at that moment.

Wrapping up the World Cup win

It wasn’t all satisfying for India. There were a couple of sore spots. Pant is not an international number 3. He is a brilliant Test cricketer but in white-ball, he has been found wanting. Something similar to Sehwag. As for Dube, if the designation number 5 cannot walk in inside the initial 6 overs, it leaves a lot to be desired about that player. It could be construed as strategic thinking but I am certain that Axar Patel was sent ahead of Dube because of Dube’s susceptibility to pace.

Other blogs about India T20

https://icricketcritique.com/indian-openers-for-world-t20/
https://icricketcritique.com/indian-team-for-world-t20/

Clive Lloyd the captain par excellence

Posted on by Bobji

What can you write about a captain who redefined how the game must be played? An outstanding thinker and someone who inspired a generation of West Indian cricketers to compete and emerge triumphant at the end of the campaign. Lloyd oversaw the West Indies to become the greatest team of the generation in both Tests and ODIs. He was the captain when West Indies won the ODI World Cup in 1975 and 1979. He also was the captain in 1983 when India snatched the World Cup. What happened after that, every Indian will remember the hammering in 1984. Clive Lloyd the captain par excellence.

Cricket owes a lot of gratitude to Clive Lloyd for introducing the 4 fast bowlers theory. Up until that point, a spinner was mandatory in all the international sides. Lloyd himself had spinners in his bowling armoury. It was the loss to India at Port of Spain, unable to defend 405 in the last innings that prompted Lloyd to dispense with spinners and utilise the services of his unmatched fast bowlers. It will be safe to say that Lloyd and the West Indies forced quite a few rule changes in the ICC rules book.

Lloyd’s methods effected rule changes

The introduction of 90 mandatory overs in a day was very much based on the influence the West Indies bowlers had where they hardly bowled over 70 overs. Most of them had a long runup which meant one over took more than 6 minutes to be finished. Those days, the game wasn’t based on number of overs but based on the time. The whole day was split into 3 halves of 2 hours each. At the end of the day, the moment the last half of 2 hours was finished, the game stopped. This meant that the West Indian bowlers were not stretched to bowl a lot more. The ICC had to act because the paying spectators were shortchanged. Clive Lloyd can lay credit for this rule change.

Another was the number of bouncers per over. The West Indian bowlers were relentless in their accuracy and attack. Every delivery was bowled at the throat of the batsmen. Run scoring came to a grinding halt because most of the batsmen were not good at pull or hook. This led to another change in the rule that not more than one bouncer can be bowled per over which was later changed to two per over.

The legacy of Clive Lloyd

Under Lloyd, the West Indies went for 27 Tests without losing a single Test. It included a run of 11 successive wins which was eventually broken by Steve Waugh led Australian team. The sight of a giant figure glaring down the pitch at the bowler will be a sight no bowler of that era will ever forget. He was a master tactician who inspired an entire generation. Just like the cricketers from the Caribbean during that period, he learned the game on the roads and beaches. His record of 36 wins out of 74 Tests is only a shade behind Steve Waugh and Ponting after all these years.

Indians will never forget Lloyd’s twin innings. In India in 1974-75 Lloyd toyed with the spin attack of ripped the heart of Bedi-Chandra-Prasanna exhibiting some of the most imperious strokeplay ever seen in India. The 163 at Bangalore and the unbeaten 242 at Mumbai won the series for his team. It was a sight to behold watching Lloyd dance down the pitch to hit the spinners off their line and length.

Australia was the only team that fought blow for blow with the West Indies. For a period, they had a better of the West Indies until Clive Lloyd led side set about to correct the record. In the 1975 series in Australia, Lloyd topped the batting charts with more than 450 runs against the ferocious pace of Lillee and Thomson. There was a saying in Australia that if Lillee does not get you, Thommo will. Those two bowlers were a nightmare for most of the batsmen. Lloyd played them with aplomb and helped the West Indies win the series.

Wrapping up Clive Lloyd the captain par excellence

In 2009, Sir Clive was inducted into the ICC  Cricket Hall of Fame and was knighted in 2022. Where does Lloyd rank among the greats of West Indian cricket? I cannot comment on the famous Ws or for that matter, Kanhai or Sobers who were all extraordinary cricketers. Atleast over the last 40 years, he will be among the 5 great batsmen to emerge from those islands. I will rate him above Brian Lara and slightly below Vivian Richards. Richards was an extraordinary batsman who was a lynchpin in Lloyd’s team. However, Lloyd will not be an easily forgotten man. West Indian teams of the 80s and 90s are still remembered and revered by cricket fans all over the world because of Clive Lloyd’s all-conquering fast bowlers.

Other blogs about West Indies

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

The David Warner career

Posted on by Bobji

Almost an year after he retired from red-ball cricket, David Warner, has retired from white-ball cricket too. This was a much anticipated and expected announcement that came at the end of the group game against India. Everyone knows that for sometime now, Warner has been struggling with his form in all formats. It is often tempered with a stray innings amongst a sea of low scores. Having said that, where does Warner stand in the annals of the game? What will be his legacy? Can he be classified as a great of his era? Can he be considered as a behemoth who laid into the bowlers with his short making? His career, he himself will admit has not been a complete one. Lopsided performances that jostled between two extremes. The career of David Warner.

I am afraid that this is going to be a critical piece about David Warner.

The Newlands controversy

For all his ability, Warner will first and foremost be remembered for his role in the Cape Town ball tampering incident. It is now a well established fact that it was Warner’s idea to scratch the ball with Smith approving and Bancroft carrying out the actions. There is a vast section among the Australians who will never forgive him for that.

“I think it’s going to be inevitable that when people talk about me in 20 or 30 years’ time, there will always be that. There will always be that sandpaper scandal,” Warner said.

Yes, he was banned for a period of one year. There were calls at that point to ban him entirely. Vice-captaincy was stripped off and he was more or less a cricketing untouchable. In the immediate aftermath of the Tim Paine scandal, Australia were searching for a new captain. Warner did not even figure in that discussion. Cricket Australia was even prepared to go back to Steve Smith but Warner was not in their thoughts. It showed that the Australians were not prepared to forgive him. They forgave Smith and Bancroft but not Warner because it was all his suggestion. It will be inevitable that he will be associated with Newlands for the rest of his life. He needs to live with it.

Another way people will remember him

Warner either by his own choosing or that of the team management or the please his seniors, assumed the role of being an aggressive brat who would constantly abuse and sledge the batsmen. The Australians call it mental disintegration but all of us know that it was, is and will always be downright abuse. Warner himself was involved in numerous such incidents that many a times, went overboard or again the Aussies would love to call it as crossing the line. Where is the line and what crossing it means, this no one is aware. If the Australians felt that some imaginary line is crossed, it is crossed. They are hypocrites of the first order. Not that other teams aren’t but Australians are the pioneers who have made this an art.

The most famous of his indecent behaviour happened again in South Africa when he fought with Quinton de Kock over some remarks that de Kock allegedly to have made. Why was Warner offended? He could very well have started the argument or the fight on the field which spilled over to the dressing room. Warner took the image of “Ugly Aussies” to another orbit. He relished the role. It took some years for Warner to realise that it is affecting his image badly and he decided not to continue in the same fashion. However, the damage was already done.

How has his career progressed?

Warner’s career has been sort of a mixed bag. More than 8000 runs at 44 in Tests, close to 7000 runs in ODI at 45 and 3277 runs at 33 in T20. He is the leading run scorer in T20 among all the Australian batsmen. These numbers are quite impressive. Especially, the ODI numbers. The point is that based on his overall numbers, can he be classified as a great batsmen? Agreed, he has the best numbers among the Australians in all the formats but I still will not place him in the category of a great. He sure was a good batsman but fell way short of being considered a true great of the game.

In this day and age, scoring runs in ODI and T20 has become achievable. The short boundaries, the powerful bats and the field restrictions have ensured that. Just look at the number of 325 scores in ODIs by teams. There was a period where it was considered near impossible to score that many till the beginning of the new millennium. It is Test cricket that is still the pinnacle of the support and where the batsman is completely tested against every type of bowling on a variety of pitches.

Australia and Test cricket

Australians place a lot of importance on Test cricket. They often talk about the spirit of the game when it suits them and the traditions of the game. Hence, Test cricket is where Warner’s performance needs to be measured. Shockingly, his numbers are completely lopsided. His record is excellent in his home country and in South Africa where the pitches are similar but on pitches he wasn’t used to or provided him with a challenge, he has more often than not, fallen short. England and India where he has played a significant number of Tests. In New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka though the sample is less, his numbers are pretty poor. What is more shocking is that, he hasn’t scored a single 100 in any of these countries.

Wrapping up the David Warner career

For those who term Warner as a great cricketer, I have news for them. He certainly does not qualify as a great but as a good batsman, he certainly does. Hopefully, after retiring, he will find peace and that he will work towards improving his image significantly.

Other blogs about Australia

https://icricketcritique.com/winning-in-australia-is-so-bloody-tough/
https://icricketcritique.com/winning-in-australia-is-so-bloody-tough-2/
https://icricketcritique.com/australia-performance-review-of-2022/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-australian-team-for-india/
https://icricketcritique.com/australians-are-happy-without-tour-games/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-takeway-for-australia-after-the-series/
https://icricketcritique.com/review-of-australia-in-2023/

Is it the end for seniors?

Posted on by Bobji

The current Indian team, playing in the T20 World Cup in America and the West Indies, has some players who are in their last leg as far as T20 is concerned. I for one, do not see any scope for them beyond this World Cup. Leave alone beyond the World Cup, I would not have been bothered by them for the current World Cup itself. Scoring a ton of runs in the IPl is onething but scoring runs at the highest level is quite another. T20 is one format that must be planned with World Cup in mind. The bilateral T20 games do not matter at all. Atleast, bilateral ODIs matters but T20, I am afraid they do not. Now, is it the end fo seniors?

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jadeja are the ones for who this World Cup is likely to be their last T20 World Cup. The next one is atleast a couple of years away and by then, Kohli and Rohit would have passed their best in this format with Jadeja already becoming a liability. A couple of years ago, after the exit at the semi-final stage against England in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, the Indian selectors swung into action by dropping both Kohli and Rohit. Hardik Pandya became the captain with India looking to the future.

The predicament of the previous seniors

It was a good decision to drop both of them. It was time to plan for the next 10 years with the service of younger players. Afterall, T20 is a format for the youngsters. Back in the day, when T20 cricket was very much in vogue, the first World T20 was inaugurated in 2007, the stalwarts of the Indian team, Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly, who were all in the mid-30s, felt that the format was not for them and they promptly choose to skip the World Cup altogether, thereby a young Indian team under Dhoni to take shape. It was a courageous decision on their part.

It would not have been easy for them, who have served the country for so long and faithfully, to conclude that their game and age does not suit the requirements of one particular format. The ego would not have allowed it. The selectors for their part, would have happily selected them in the squad.

At the corner of their mind, they still would have wanted to have a crack just to be part of the new format but they were not swayed by their ego and promptly decided not to even contemplate T20. Ofcourse, Dravid still went onto make his debut in T20, just one game when there wasn’t enough players around in England. The truth is that Dravid, Tendulkar amd Ganguly understood the requirements of the format and took a decision that benefitted the team.

The current senior players

Can we say the same about Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja? I am not implying that they are being selfish but I am sure that they are unable to let go off of T20. That much is clear. All of them were involved right from the inception of T20 cricket. Rohit infact was part of the inaugural T20 World Cup winning Indian team. For him, it is even more difficult to bid goodbye. Kohli just had a stellar season with RCB. Also, the fact that he has never won the World Cup, T20 or ODi, seems to motivate him to continue playing.

What about Jajeda? It is difficult to gauge his utility in T20 cricket. One will struggle to remember the last time he had a significant impact for the nation. Yet, he still is an excellent fielder but batting and bowling seems to have deserted him. On flat pitches, Jadeja does not have any impact. Lower down the order, he is incapable of the kind of innings that is expected from him. It leaves a big question mark over his overall utility to the team.

Axar Patel, whose bowling is more or less similar to that of Jadeja has recently stolen a march over him with his ability with the bat. He is also left-handed so that aspect of Jadeja’s batting is also nullified. Against Pakistan, in the ongoing World Cup, he came in at number 4. I have never seen Jadeja come in above number 6. It leaves a serious question mark over his adaptability. I am not saying that Axar is an excellent criceketer but at the moment, he is head and shoulders above Jadeja.

Wrapping up is it the end for seniors?

The next T20 World Cup will be in 2026. Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja will be on the wrong side of 30s. Logically, they will have to announce retirement at the end of the World Cup from T20. They must not force the selectors to drop them which will not sit well with any of them. These players will continue to play for their respective franchises in the IPL. That is for the franchise to decide. Rohit and Kohli is a brand and their franchises will not allow them to leave the scene that easily. Take the case of Dhoni who is still playing without creating much impact thereby making a joke of himself.

There are enough replacements. The likes of Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj and a host of young cricketers are waiting in the wings to represent the nation during the next decade. The time has come to thank Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja for their services. They can still continue to play Tests and ODIs though I do not see a role for Jadeja in ODIs either. Cricketers must realise when their time is up.

Other blogs about Rohit

https://icricketcritique.com/rohit-sharmas-litmus-test-as-captain/
https://icricketcritique.com/rohit-sharmas-ridiculous-comment/
https://icricketcritique.com/should-rohit-sharma-drop-himself/
https://icricketcritique.com/gavaskar-feels-rohit-needs-to-rest/
https://icricketcritique.com/t20-rohit-and-kohli/
https://icricketcritique.com/well-said-rohit-sharma/
https://icricketcritique.com/a-tribute-to-rohit-sharma/

Remembering Malcolm Marshall

Posted on by Bobji

Malcolm Marshall. The sheer name used to send shivers down the spine of the batsmen around the world. The famous dialogue in James Bond movies applies perfectly for Marshall. You can hear him say, Marshall, Malcolm Marshall. Impact that he had was tremendous. Marshall had one of the smoothest action for a fast bowler. The rhythmic run-up, quick footsteps and fast arm action, all synchronised emphatically to make the batsman dance to his tune. Any captain would love to have Marshall in his bowling attack. If one were to select the top 5 bowlers ever to have played the game, it would be impossible to look beyond Marshall. Such was the impact that he created. He passed away too soon. This is remembering Malcolm Marshall.

The contemporary batsmen had this to say about Marshall. He had the fastest outswingers which start swinging when you are already committed the shot. Your nose will be in serious danger when he lifted the ball from a perfect good length!..

Even if you go on backfoot, just to see the end of the swing, the ball will come in sharply from pitching on the seam and trap you LBW. I was fortunate to see him many times live and it seemed he would take a wicket in every delivery, even when the batsman just scored a century.

Back in 1976, just after West Indies lost a Test at Port of Spain, India scored 406 in the 4th innings, Lloyd was completely shattered and he immediately disbanded and banished spinners thereby heralding an era of exceptionally quick bowlers. Marshall made his debut just a couple of years later. He proved to be the lynchpin of the West Indian attack. Ofcourse, there were Holding, Garner, Croft and others but the bowling attack revolved around Marshall.

Mark Nicholas about Marshall

The noted English commentator, Mark Nicolas, summed Marshall quite nicely. “He began by bowling sort of awesomely fast with a whippy action. He then developed his skills. Once he had perfected the outswinger, he moved to perfect the inswinger. By about 1984-85, he had about everything — stamina, pace, control, movement, fantastic bowling brain.”

“He was very thoughtful about other people. He was never loud or bombastic.” Mark continues, “he cared about people. He would often say to me if so and so is very quiet, he would tell me ‘have you thought about talking to [that person]’,” Nicholas said.

Marshall retired from the game a bit too soon. He had scalped 376 wickets by then and even in his final series, he took 20 wickets in 5 Tests at 22.10. That is an impressive return by any standards. Just why Marshall stopped suddenly is a mystery. His health deteriorated but that was towards the latter half of 1990s. He was at the pole position to overtake Richard Hadlee and become the highest wicket-taker. Kapil Dev came into prominence only because Marshall retired.

During my childhood

Back in the day, when television was not in vogue as it is now, I knew that the Indian batsmen, who never learned their trade in bouncy pitches, the name Malcolm Marshall used to send shivers. Radio commentary was the only way to understand where and how the game is moving along. I hoped that the short burst of Marshall we pass by without any major damage. I came to expect damage but I always hoped that it will be minimal. Invariably, it will not be but one continued to hope. I knew that it was a futile exercise but hope I did. India was never out of the woods against West Indies with their relentless quicks but if Marshall could be safely played out, it was a little battle won which would give the batsmen some amount of confidence.

Marshall and pace

You could be anyone. Gavaskar, Border, Chappell or Gatting. Yet, you couldn’t score against him. He ensured that the batsmen fight hard to score runs of him. He challenged the batsmen all the time. Pitches did not matter. He could make the ball talk even on the flattest of the surface. Marshall bowled like a man possessed. He collected one Test wicket for every 7.4 overs gathering 376 wickets in 2930 overs. It almost seemed like if he felt bored, he would pick up a wicket. Sort of false sense of security on the part of the batsmen.

Speen gun was not invented when Marshall bowled. We will never know the pace at which he bowled. Just take a look at Mike Gatting’s nose which needed surgeries to set it right. As a batsman, you didn’t know what was the worst about facing Marshall. The ICC brought in the rule of 2 bouncers per over just because of the relentless accuracy of the great West Indian bowlers who used the delivery with aplomb. Marshall, was at the centre of that tactic.

Marshall took a special liking for England. In 1984, To this day, the 7 for 53 is considered one of the grittiest exhibitions of hardcore pace bowling by the Barbadian, which fetched West Indies an unassailable 3-0 lead. Gower, Gatting, Lamb and the rest were all subjected to relentless fast and accurate bowling. He took 127 wickets against England alone. The next series in 1986 was even more brutal for the English. Marshall seemed to have left some unfinished business in 1984 which he took care of in 1986.

Wrapping up remembering Malcolm Marshall

In a game that is dominated by the bat, how people are awed by the beauty of a cover drive and the unflinching hook of a bouncer, Marshall made bowling look equally beautiful.

Other West Indies blogs

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

Another forgettable season for Delhi

Posted on by Bobji

The whole nation, heaved a sigh of relief when we saw Rishabh Pant walking into the ground to play his first competitive game in more than a year. Pant is a precious commodity for Indian cricket. The innings that eluded the likes of Tendulkar almost till his retirement, the likes of Kohli that is still eluding him, a match winning innings while chasing in the 4th innings of a Test Match, Pant achieved that early in his career. It was not only match winning but a series winning innings. The sight of him playing international cricket again after a horrific accident, is soothing to the eyes. Everything else, for Delhi Capitals went wrong. It was another forgettable season for Delhi.

Having said that, I still do not rate Pant is as a captain. He just doesn’t have the skills to be a successful captain. He is a brilliant batsman at the Test level and a safe keeper but to anoint him as the captain, be it Delhi or India, is a bit far-fetched. Also,he seemed to be too reliant on the coaching staff to make strategic decisions. Also, I do not think that he can think on his feet. Delhi will have to switch to another player for captaincy.

How did the season went?

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Delhi. They were in the reckoning right till the end. However, it is hard to believe that a team coached by Ricky Ponting for such a longtime, has remained trophy-less all these years. It is not that they lack firepower. Infact, they have it in abundance. A top and middle order consisting of David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh and Pant must be enough to make opposition shudder but they all had flashes of brilliance but collectively, they were a massive let-down.

Prithvi Shaw in particular. It wasn’t that long ago, he played for India and made a walloping debut hundred.  Within a coup of years, he was dropped and now, is unlikely to be playing for India again, given his lack of consistency. Perhaps, he may follow his predecessor’s, Unmukt Chand, example and relocate to America where he will probably get to play for USA. He is a huge disappointment and it was no wonder that he didn’t get a consistent run in the middle.

As for Warner, his end is near. It will be better for him to retire from the game entirely. It was tough to see someone like him being dropped from the team for a majority of the games. That he took that in his stride is an altogether different matter but for someone who played international cricket for so long and was reasonably successful, this must hurt.

Youngsters with bright future

Fraser McGurk was a revelation. 330 runs at a strike rate of 234 is incredible. I wonder why he wasn’t introduced earlier in the season. Things could have been different for Delhi. The 4 foreign players rule must be contented with though.

“Some of the things he’s done – I think he’s made three 20-ball fifties in this tournament, so he along with Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have been the stand-out PowerPlay batsmen in this entire tournament,” DC head coach Ricky Ponting had said. 

He was unlucky to miss out on a spot in the Australian World T20 squad. With the imminent retirement of Warner, McGurk will be at the top of the contenders to replace him at the top. Bowlers beware of his presence. Australia will be even more strengthened with his hard hitting at the top.

Other players worthy of mention is the South African, Tristan Stubbs and the Indian Abhishek Porel. Both of them alongwith McGurk kept the flag of Delhi flying where the other more experienced cricketers failed around them. Stubbs handled the end overs expertly and ended up scoring 378 runs at a strike rate of 190 whereas Porel, had 327 runs at 159. Ricky Ponting had lot of praise for Porel.

“I’ve seen extreme growth in Abishek Porel in this IPL. In fact, looking back to the start of last season, obviously (with) Rishabh’s accident, we needed to bring in some wicketkeepers into our squad after the auction. We tried a lot of guys, a lot of guys that played, more senior guys than Porel, but the moment that I laid eyes on him, I knew that he was a very special talent,” Ponting had told the media. 

The bowling

Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav were decent but the rest weren’t able to suppor them properly. In effect, it left those 2 spinners a lot to do. Infact, Patel ended up being the captain for one game where Pant was ruled out because of a punishment. It is clear where the fault lies for Delhi’s woes. They will have to tighten their bowling in the future.

Wrapping up another forgettable season for Delhi

A tournament that started on a sour note, Delhi had their moments but were unable to carry the momentum. The injury the Mitchell Marsh and the withdrawal of Harry Brook, they weren’t clear with their plans. By the time, the tournament neared its end, they didn’t win the important games to make it to the playoffs. The massive loss against KKR, by 106 runs was sufficient to push them on the backfoot in terms of NRR. Also, the small matter of 1 win the 5 games during the initial stage left them too much to do towards the later stages.

Delhi must change their captain and also, find some good fast bowlers who could pick up wickets during the initial burst.

https://icricketcritique.com/review-of-delhi-capitals-in-ipl-2022/
https://icricketcritique.com/dulls-elevation-and-rameezs-lament/
https://icricketcritique.com/will-pants-absence-affect-delhi-capitals/
https://icricketcritique.com/delhis-struggle-in-ipl-2023/
https://icricketcritique.com/delhi-capitals-ipl-2023-review/

Confusing season for Mumbai

Posted on by Bobji

Mumbai Indians were rocked even before the tournament started. Hardik Pandya was purchased from Gujarat Titans for an undisclosed sum. We can assume that it was an exorbitant one. No one at that time would have anticipated what was about to happen. At first, everyone would have thought that this was done merely to ensure that the franchise had sufficient muscle power during the lower end of the innings now that Kieran Pollard has retired. Pandya played for Mumbai for a very longtime when they decided not to retain him. The shock came a little later when Pandya replaced Rohit as the captain. That was when it dawned on everyone the real reason for hiring Pandya. It started what was a confusing season for Mumbai.

There were a lot of disgruntled players within the Mumbai Indians setup. Jasprit Bumrah and Surya Yadav Tweeted cryptic posts thereby signalling their intentions. However, I felt that this was waiting to happen. Rohit has been the captain for more than 8 years. Being the captain of any sporting side for that long, will dent a captain’s capability. He or she would have gone past their sell-by-date and it is time to look to the future. That is exactly what the franchise owner did. This is a professional sport. This is how things are. There is no need for his supporters to feel disheartened.

Change in captaincy and changes in personnel will keep on happening in professional sports. Yes, Rohit did win 5 trophies but that was in the past. Rohit is 37 looking towards the end of his career but IPL will go on. Hence, MI is justified in planning for the future.

Rude crowd behaviour

Having said that, what transpired on the field was something unseen. The Mumbai crowd were rude towards Pandya. In every game, he was booed for no mistake of his. Whether his captaincy was good or otherwise is not a point of discussion. The Mumbai crowd did not cover themselves with glory. Agreed, Rohit Sharma was successful and he took Mumbai to 5 title wins but that does not mean that he is irreplaceable as captain. Every team must plan for succession and that was what the Mumbai franchise did. The decision was taken and now the crowd must have stood behind Pandya.

It was unfortunate that Rohit Sharma did not think that it was necessary to calm the crowd down and ask them to get behind the captain. It is tough to imagine what Pandya would have underwent during that tumultuous period. To add salt to the injury, Gavaskar attacked the captaincy of Pandya. One would not have seen Gavaskar saying anything against any Mumbai player. We all know that he is a Rohit fan which clearly showed in him getting angry at Pandya. He must have directed his anger against the Ambani family who were the catalyst but Gavaskar choose to ignore them or remain silent.

Onto the tournament

It was a forgettable season for Mumbai. They finished at the bottom of the table with just 4 wins making them the only team not to reach double figures in terms of points. With the entire team sort of a strife, it looked like the team itself was short of direction and short of confidence. With the firepower at their disposal, Mumbai if not qualify, must have atleast given the others a run for their money. Ishan, Rohit, Pandya, Surya, Tilak and Bumrah are enough to make any team shudder. Instead, It did not befall that way. Pandya not batting with his usual zeal, Ishan Kishan was not sure of himself and Rohit’s cameos were not enough. Bumrah kept the franchise in the game every now and then but everyone else, let him down massively.

Boucher’s assessment

“Disappointing, to say the least,” Boucher told the media after the match.

“I thought after the auction that we had, we identified our bowlers as something we wanted to strengthen and we felt that we did that. Obviously at the beginning of the season, losing two of them wasn’t great for us but I still think that we had some great options. On paper, I thought that we’d do a lot better than what we’ve done,” he added.

“We just haven’t managed to put our batting and our bowling together in one single match. There’s always been one that’s let the other one down, which is unfortunate. But yes, extremely disappointed,” he said.

Best and worst performance of the season

When a team wins only 4 games out of 14, it is impossible to pick the worst performance of the season. Almost every game, they performed poorly. The batsmen failed collectively and the bowlers, with the exception of Bumrah, did not turn up during the games. As for their best performance, it came against the likes of RCB when Surya Yadav played a blinder. Otherwise, the season was nothing to write about.

Wrapping up confusing season for Mumbai

There is speculation that Rohit Sharma may not stay with the franchise but I do not think that it will happen. He is very much invested in the team. Pandya will continue as the captain but after 3 successive seasons of under-performance, the franchise will have to invest in good batsmen and bowlers who can serve them for 5 years.

Other blogs about Mumbai Indians

https://icricketcritique.com/will-bcci-take-action-against-mumbai-indians/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-form-of-mumbai-indians-is-worrying/
https://icricketcritique.com/review-of-mumbai-indians-in-ipl-2022/

Wheels came off of RR

Posted on by Bobji

It has been 16 seasons since Rajasthan Royals won an IPL trophy. Shane Warne was the catalyst behind the first win in the inaugural edition. Thereafter, for one reason or another, Rajasthan was never really a title contender. Occasional brilliance was tapered by a lot of below-par performances. They never had star players apart from those initial years with Warne and later Dravid. It certainly looks like all these years, the franchise placed a lot of emphasis on the saying that the sum of parts is greater than the whole. In other words, there is no point in having a couple of stars and paying an enormous sum if they are not going to win the tournament. They started brightly but the wheels came off of RR in the end.

Rajasthan were cruising in the first half of the tournament. 8 wins in 9 games was incredible. A top 2 finish was very much in the cards. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the wheels came off. 4 successive losses followed by an abandoned game stopped them right in their tracks. How was that a team who were dominant earlier on, has now become minnows? They were the exact opposite of RCB. RCB lost 8 of 9 but stormed back to win 6 games on the trot thereby securing a place in the playoffs. That 1 run loss that left Sanju Samson speechless affected the confidence of Rajasthan greatly.

The rut started from there and it went into a tailspin. Fortunately, they ran into RCB who themselves were shocked how on earth did they qualify? Any other team, CSK or even Mumbai, it is difficult to see whether Rajasthan would have gone past the first hurdle in the playoffs.

Serious loss

The unavailability of Jos Buttler towards the later part of the tournament affected them greatly. Let us face it. Buttler is the most prized wicket of Rajasthan Royals. Get him out, the confidence goes right out of the window. A half-fit Jos Buttler limping his way to a century in extremely hot and humid conditions of Kolkata and guiding his team to victory in a record run-chase at Eden Gardens. It was a moment that will be framed in the hall of fame within the Rajasthan dressing room. Scoring hundreds in the IPL has become so easy for Buttler that he can do that in his dream.

It is impossible to replace such a batsman which Rajasthan clearly felt in the playoffs. Buttler was recalled by the ECB to prepare for the T20 series against Pakistan. Rajasthan must have known that there was a series planned for England against Pakistan around that time and that Buttler would not be available. They must have had a contingency plan. However, it now emerges that the ECB gave an assurance to all the franchises that the English players will be available for the entire tournament. If that is true, it was highly unprofessional on the part of the ECB to withdraw their players, especially from those teams who have qualified for the playoffs, abruptly.

It remains to be seen whether the franchises will again plump in money for English players because they will be under the impression that those players can be withdrawn anytime. Anyhow, that is for the ECB to decide but if they intervene like this, considering the money that the players receive in franchise cricket, the day is not far off when the players will bid goodbye to their national teams. Afterall, the career of any sportsperson is too short.

Riyan Parag and Chahal

RCB made a huge blunder when they released Chahal. Sure, he went for runs but he did pick up wickets regularly. There were reports that Chahal asked for more money and the franchise didn’t agree and so he left but Chahal says that that is not true. He also mentioned that the fact RCB did not deem it fit to retain him, hurt him. However, RCB’s loss is RR’s gain.

Chahal has been the star for Rajasthan for 3 years. He bagged 27, 21 and 18 wickets at economy rates of 7.75, 8.05 & 9.41. Impressive figures considering the fact that the latest edition was a run-fest. Scores in excess of 200 were scored with impunity. If any bowler manages an economy of less than 10 against such relentless onslaught, all of them have done well. Chahal has done that for 3 straight seasons shows what RCB missed or it could be that RCB didn’t allow the real Chahal to blossom.

Riyan Parag is another revelation for the season. 573 runs at 149 at number 4 was great. With Jaiswal not at his usual self, it was left to the trio of Butter, Samson and Parag to score. Parag provided the cushion in the middle overs which laid the foundation for several of their wins. He was equally adept against pace and spin, and ran energetically between wickets in testing conditions.

Wrapping up wheels came off of RR

Rajasthan has become the ever bridesmaid. They are unable to take the next step towards success. Having said that, they will not be able to release some of the players. Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Trent Boult and Jaiswal. All of them have been the solid for the franchise. A special mention about Boult. It was his spell in the first eliminator against RCB that put the skids on the RCB batsmen. Neither Kohli nor Faf were able to score anything of him. In trying to bat freely against the others, RCB lost wickets frequently which led to their eventual downfall. However, Boult was unable to recreate his magic in the 2nd eliminator.

There is a similarity between RR, RCB, Punjab and Delhi. The latter three have never won the IPL even once, whereas RR has never won after the first edition. The wait remains for Rajasthan Royals.

Other blogs about IPL

https://icricketcritique.com/the-expansion-of-ipl/
https://icricketcritique.com/brand-new-edition-of-ipl/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-see-ball-hit-ball-game/

KKR head and shoulders above

Posted on by Bobji

Mitchell Starc was bought for a whopping 24Crores. Social media was flooded with memes about Gambhir and madness. However, Gambhir has the last laugh. The delivery to get rid of the most dangerous Hyderabad batsman, was a dream for any fast bowler worth his salt. The ball had only one ambition of finding the stumps. With that one delivery, Starc repaid the enormous money spent on him. The game was over even before it began because of the impact that delivery created. SRH were intent on playing Starc safely which resulted in wickets all around. Pitching on middle and hitting the off, any leg-spinner, left arm ofcourse, will be proved of that delivery. It showcased how KKR was head and shoulders above the rest in the tournament.

The services of Gambhir were proved to be a masterstroke. He immediately pushed Suni Narine to open the innings. This was pivotal. Alongwith Phil Salt, Narine formed a formidable opening combination taking apart attacks with relish.  As mentioned above, it was his decision to hire Starc at an exorbitant price which eventually paid off. The move to make Narine open the innings also turned a new corner for the player himself. A first century in any form of the game. It is a moment that he will savour for the rest of his career. More than 500 runs at a staggering strike rate of 187 from a lower order cricketer was a huge bonus.

The spinners

KKR has always had a mean spin attack in the form of Suni Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. As was their wont, they proved to be the major difference between the sides on more than one occasion. The opponents found run-scoring tough against them. T helped KRR to defend totals successfully. If Starc and Rana provided a decent start, these bowlers ensured that nothing was given away. These bowlers have been so successful for KKR that it is difficult to see the franchise not plunging for them when the mega auction comes around. During that period, every franchise is allowed to retain a maximum of 4 players. Shreyas Iyer and Mitchell Starc will be two of them which leaves 2 spots.

Gautham Gambhir and the Indian coaching assignment

This was KKR’s 3rd IPL title and Gambhir was involved in all of them. 2 as captain and this one as mentor. As mentioned above, he was instrumental in hiring Starc and pushing Narine up the order. He is a complete team man. Whichever team he represents, he always wanted to win. The twin innings in the final of T20 World Cup in 2007 and the ODI World Cup in 2011 revealed his competitive instincts. There is speculation that he will become the Indian team coach after Dravid relinquishes that post after the T20 World Cup. Coaching the Indian team in a different proposition than coaching a franchise and that too for a short assignment. The relationship with Kohli is also something that must be considered.

I am not sure whether he is the perfect fit for the role because of his aversion to superstars. Indian team is mostly made up of superstars like Rohit, Kohli, Gill, Bumrah, Pant and a few others. Having said that, if he could somehow change the culture within the team and promotes every individual regardless of his star power, he will be doing Indian cricket a great service.

Rinku Singh

It was sad to see the struggle of Rinku Singh. He was in good form last year around which saw him make his debut for the nation. His performance for India was quite good and it was quite baffling for him to not make the squad for the T20 World Cup. Perhaps, that affected his mindset. Rinku Singh is quite talented and is a hard hitter. It is something the Indian team does not have in abundance. There are touch players who needs time to settle down but Rinku on the otherhand, can go after the bowling right from the fast delivery. Especially, lower down the order, with the abilities of Jadeja on the wane, it will be imperative for the Indian selectors to give Rinku much more chances.

Wrapping up KKR head and shoulders above

KKR was certainly head and shoulders above the rest of the teams in the tournament. The master stroke of getting Gambhir onboard proved quite pivotal. The addition of Starc as the pace spearhead, took care of their fast bowling woes.

Other blogs about IPL

https://icricketcritique.com/the-expansion-of-ipl/
https://icricketcritique.com/brand-new-edition-of-ipl/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-see-ball-hit-ball-game/