8 October 2011. Has India recognised the need to change? Australia is on track to regain a high place in the cricketing rankings. Within three years it will be challenging England for the top spot. And the reason is simple. Australian cricket has taken a hard look at itself and realised it had become complacent. […]
30 September 2011. Anyone doubting that Twenty20 has changed the game substantially needs to take a closer look at the Champions League. Actually it’s not the game that has changed so much as the education of the young cricketer. Jonny Bairstow bowled by Mitchell Starc. Australia beat England by 120 runs in 2nd Ashes (Day|Night) […]
24 September 2011. The issue is not whether the systems are 100 per cent reliable but whether better verdicts are reached. India’s reluctance to accept the Decision Review System is regrettable. The BCCI wants to wait till the technology has been rendered foolproof. But humanity cannot wait upon perfection or else we’d all still be […]
3 September 2011. The Indians might find themselves facing a bunch of capable young guns. Doubtless Indian cricketers are keeping a close eye on events in Galle. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his exhausted men arrive in Australia in December seeking their country’s first series victory down under. A month or so ago the prospects seemed […]
7 October 2010. VVS Laxman is an artist whose strength lies not in his artistry but in his competitive spirit, a batsman who needs adversity to unleash the giant within. VVS Laxman has joined Brian Lara on the short list of modern batsmen whose mastery extends to fourth-innings chases and whose masterpieces include memorable innings […]
8 September 2010. Time is up for making excuses and passing the buck; anti-corruption bodies and administrators can do no good if players keep giving in to temptations. Cricket has been leading a double life. At the same time it is a valiant and beautiful game played with intent by a collection of superb players, […]
27 August 2011. India needs to examine the evidence provided by the heavy defeats in England and respond accordingly. Pretending it was a bad patch or a cursed tour will merely prolong the agony. Moreover, the scale of the loss does not allow any room for complacency. It is over. India’s steady rise in the […]
The nebulous idea of the spirit of cricket is hard to sustain in our fractious times. Better to think in terms of respect for opponents, perhaps. By sponsoring the Test series between Pakistan and Australia played in England, the Marylebone Cricket Club did the game a service. Cricket faces no greater task than the protection […]
Argus and company recommended an overhaul of the selection and coaching structures in Australia. No sooner had Australia comprehensively lost the 2010-11 Ashes series than the Board announced not one but two enquiries into the causes of the defeat. Don Argus, the recently retired BHP chief, was asked to examine cricket operations. Meanwhile, two governance […]
14 August 2011. Over the last few days, two teams have summoned the focus demanded in the unforgiving Test arena. England has been superb, an executioner in white clothes. Zimbabwe, too, played with unsuspected maturity. Contrastingly, India and Bangladesh have been abject. Test cricket exposes weaknesses and reveals strengths. That is its beauty and primary […]
5 August 2011. Let us praise England’s cricketers! Admittedly the Indians have played like duffers but focussing on their failings denies the victors their dues. Moreover even India at its best, might not have been good enough. England has played vibrant and fighting cricket. The team has a reliable top order, a powerful middle, a […]
21 May 2011. If the style in Sticky Wicket is as dry as a paper clip, the content is colourful. Speed describes the rumour ridden enquiry into Bob Woolmer‘s death at the 2003 Cricket World Cup (CWC), an investigation hijacked by a vainglorious detective and a silly coroner. He talks about the disastrous 2007 CWC, […]
30 April 2011. With all due respect to the entertaining tussles between IPL sides, the most riveting confrontation of the week occurred not on an Indian cricket ground but on a Spanish football field. How closely soccer is followed in India these days is unclear but a rupee to a paisa says it is growing […]
9 September 2011. It might years before Sri Lanka and India regain their full powers. India and Sri Lanka have hardly won a match since the World Cup final. Certainly Mahendra Dhoni’s fellows did subdue the West Indians but they are weak and fractured and anyhow several of the top players were missing. Otherwise it […]
17th September 2011. If the modern players are exhausted then it is their own fault. India’s boycott of the ICC awards ceremony more closely resembled a student protest than the conduct of mature sportsmen enriched by the game and obliged to promote its interests. It was a trivial action that contrasted sharply with the glories […]
23 July 2011. Indian cricket has come a long way. Certainly the surge of the last few summers has caused a few headaches but cricket is lucky to have India as its driving force. Amongst major playing nations, only Sri Lanka has improved half as much. However, India has reason to worry about its prospects. […]
11 August 2010. The five-day game is still compelling, but pitches need to be got right if the format is to thrive. Ajantha Mendis’ plucky stand in Colombo proved a superb advertisement for the longer version of the game. Whereas 50-over cricket is one-dimensional, Test matches can swing back and forth in the most improbable […]
28 July 2010. Australia and India face similar problems, with ageing stalwarts and unproven youngsters. The upcoming series between the two doesn’t seem as good a prospect as those in recent times. By no means can the Indians or Australians be confident about their Test prospects over the next few months. In that period Australia […]
14 July 2010. Murali hasn’t been combative like Warne or full of rage like Kumble; more unconventional than them, and tenacious to the core, he has surpassed them both. Muttiah Muralitharan has made a mesmeric contribution to the game. It was no small thing for a boy from Kandy to attract the attention of selectors […]
30 June 2010. Strauss’s boys are full of a new attitude, defined by resilience, optimism and unbreakability. Hope and hurt fell upon English sportsmen during a tumultuous week. Hurt came from another heavy defeat at the hands of the Germans, so often a nemesis on the games field if not upon the battlefield. As usual […]
16th June 2010. Things may not be as rosy as observers may have cause to hope for, but respect for those seeking to rebuild the country and its cricket must surpass anger about those hell-bent on its destruction. Zimbabwe and its cricket community have been getting soft treatment lately, as both undergo changes that optimists […]
16 July 2011. Mahendra Singh Dhoni needs to rethink his approach to the game. As captain he is responsible for the conduct and strategies pursued by his team. Cricket’s laws are clear on that point. In other games captains are merely required to maintain morale. Cricketers spend most of their time on the field so […]