News

Announcing a new blog: http://deep-ness.blogspot.com/

(Sorry Deeps! Couldn't think of a different URL)

The idea is to do more "serious" stuff on the new blog and the timepass stuff here. Ah yes, cricket too! So Australia win the World Cup. Unfortunately, their brilliance is making the game boring. Let's hope the other teams catch up soon.

Chattering monkeys

It is natural that idiots who speak without listening to others during conversations will be hated, if not completely ignored. I fear I have now become one such. As ever, circumstances are to blame.

Disappointing, Only

So, it has all ended up like this. With one month to go in the World Cup, the Indian team is back home. Uncountably infinite articles and blog posts have discussed, despaired, contemplated and ranted about how the unimaginable has come to pass. Of course, this is only the beginning of the madness.

I missed the Bangladesh match but watched all of the deciding Sri Lanka fixture. Without getting into the messy details, my feeling about was lacking in the Indian outfit - team spirit. This was almost the same team that played so well in 2003, but back then it looked like a close-knit, cohesive unit. This time around, all the controversies over captaincy, confusion in team composition, division over the coach's methods, aging stars, non-performing stars, all combined to make the team lesser than the sum of its components.

Personally, apart from feeling a bit flat that India is out of the world cup so soon, I don't care for all the criticism heaped on the players. Sure, there are issues to be addressed, most crucially to ensure our cricket does not fall behind, failing to adapt to changes in the game (and go the way of Indian hockey), but I only feel sad for the players who must surely be hurting more than everyone else. All the outrage on display by "fans" has nothing to with cricket or sport. My smug take on this is that life is mind-numbingly boring most of the time and being out of the world cup deprives us of the distractions we crave - entertainment, adrenaline rushes and vicarious feelings of euphoria.

Holy Smokes! What all has happened in 4 days time!

I had casually mentioned upsets by minnows in the previous post, but Ireland knocking Pakistan out and Bangladesh pushing India to the brink has changed the whole complexion of the tournament. All this took a back seat though, due to the shocking death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer. He was truly one of the most influential figures in international cricket and as the first laptop-wielding coach (with the super successful South African team of the late 90s), pioneered the use of technology in the modern game. Inzamam resigned as Pakistan captain and retired from the one-day game. An inglorious exit for a great player who has seen both ends of the spectrum in World Cups, having announced himself so emphatically as a 22-year old in the '92 edition. Pakistan cricket is in a state of complete disarray with the PCB chairman and the board of selectors handing in resignations. Freddie Flintoff's latest drinking binge got him dropped for a match and also stripped him of the England vice-captaincy. The poor guy reportedly fell off a pedal boat and had to be fished out of the water. It might be a blessing in costume, the captaincy stuff was cramping him as a player. Andrew Strauss seems like a better option as England captain.

As for India, the Sri Lanka match becomes all-important now. The match against Bermuda was good to get some confidence back. The batting lineup showed resolve and blasted to India's first 400 plus score. I distinctly remember the match when India went past 300 for the first time. This was against Pakistan in Sharjah and Azhar launched into Ata-ur-Rehman's last over, carting a couple of sixes and a brace of fours. Azza was in the midst of a form slump and this burst came out of nowhere. He was shaking in nervous anger and for some reason, seemed to be mouthing off little Sanjay Manjrekar, who was at the non-striker's end.

World Cup Opener

So the big event has begun!

The first round is difficult to be excited about, with too much minnow bashing in prospect. But these matches have thrown up huge upsets in the past and do get newer teams into the fold. The Windies came out on top in the clash-of-the-mercurials opener with Pakistan. Marlon Samuels is a great talent and seems to have gotten over his inconsistency.

I am kind of sick of all the predictions for semi-final berths, so let's not go there unless some of you are just dying to tell. Almost everyone expects India to be in the semis though and the team has a lot going for it in terms of experience, class and balance. This Cricinfo feature lays out the statistics. Really mind-blogging, those numbers for India.

Tail piece: I couldn't get down to blogging for the last few days because of a journal paper I'm working on. The thing was stuck in my throat for a long time, but finally beat it into some shape for a decent first draft. I don't like to boast, but this paper of mine destroys the theory of relativity and disproves the existence of gravity.

Sam and I are setting off tomorrow to see the Grand Canyon, just in time to get something out of spring break. Will put up some pics if we manage to capture something special. Also maybe a travelogue of sorts.

Chandrahas Bey has a post on the best Indian cricket writing(click here). From what Chandrahas writes (and also from what I've read before), Ramachandra Guha's work stands apart from the rest. Among recent books, Rahul Bhattacharya's Pundits From Pakistan has received praise from all quarters. It's been lying on my bookshelf for a while now, should get to reading it soon.

PS: Too distracted with work for purposeful blogging.

Life and Timepass

A deep insight has dawned upon me. Timepass subsumes everything. It gives meaning to our life. Whatever we do is for Timepass only. I spent a considerable amount of time on trying to think of one, just one voluntary activity in my life which cannot be categorized as Timepass. From drawing a complete blank[1], my conscious mind[2] segued into the Eureka! moment I mention above.

In this light, I was greatly tempted to correct the name of this blog, at the least by flipping the order of the two words. I have restrained myself with superhuman effort, for the sole purpose of ensuring a continuity in the lives of its millions of rabid readers and followers.

[1] I want to ask you to undergo similar introspection and let us know the results.

[2] As opposed to the subconscious, which must have known for a while now.

Games of old

As I wondered what to post given the lull in cricket action, my thoughts wandered to the more exotic games we played as kids. I wanted to make a short post with a couple of lines on the games I remember being fascinated with, even if for a short time. As I began writing, I wanted to add more and more detail, reliving those memories in the process.

Maaram-Peeti - All that was needed for this game was a rubber ball and a bunch of players. Whoever has the ball in hand can freely hit the others with it, no questions asked. When the ball falls to the ground, anyone can grab it. The game involves constant careful judgment, you either reach the ball before the others or decide to run out of hittable distance. Of course, sometimes your judgment fails and you run the risk of ending up really close to the ball-wielder. There are different ways of trying to handle this situation, in order to escape a stinging blow. If you fancy your swiftness and cunning, you can run away, making sudden and random changes in direction, hoping to cause the ball-wielder to miss. Alternatively, you can stand face to face, backing yourself to pull off a Matrix type evasion or psyche the attacker into a wild, misdirected throw. It was implicitly macho to refuse to express pain or rub the unfortunate body part which received the latest painful blow. Also rated favorably was showing off the red/blue patches of skin suffered from the champion's[1] throw, but only after the game ended. In 4th and 5th standard, my gang at school was addicted to this brutal, but ultimately beautiful game. We would play: when we got off the school bus till it was time for the 9am assembly, during the 15 minutes of the 11am interval, during the 30 mins of the 12:30pm lunch break after quickly finishing our lunch in 5 minutes, during any "free periods" and finally during the 45 minutes of the 3:00pm PT period.

Gilli-Danda - One summer, we (a bunch of cousins and the 10 year old me) went to an uncle's place in Nizamabad. This uncle worked in the sugar factory there and lived in quarters which were surrounded by trees and bushes. Their maid's son was also our friend and a lively, enterprising guy. He fashioned a grippy danda and flippy gilli out of a tree branch. It was unbelievable, someone making a gilli-danda set just for us! To get started, we draw a circle(with danda length as radius) on the ground and in its center scrape out a small depression, about 5inches long and 2 inches deep, the width according to the thickness of the danda. Players take turns as the striker (danda bearer) in round robin fashion and the rest are catchers. The catchers stand a certain distance away from the circle in an appropriately chosen direction. The striker places the gilli perpendicular to the depression, turns his[2] back to the catchers, stands with his legs on either side of the prostrate gilli and sliding the danda into the depression, flicks the gilli as far as he can. One of the catchers will then throw the gilli back aiming for the circle. If the throw lands the gilli inside the circle, then the striker loses his coveted position and has to hand over to the next in line. If it lands outside, he has a chance for scoring. As the experienced ones among you know, the gilli has conical edges and when the danda comes down on one of these, it jumps up suddenly, making whirring somersaults in the air. To be able to score, the striker has to control the danda's blow in a way that the gilli rises up close to him, at a height and distance allowing a free swing. As the gilli climbs and then falls, the danda bearer braces himself to aim a mighty blow to send it flying, to land as far as possible. Advanced players will try and tap the gilli lightly a few times, while keeping it within reach before unleashing the long shot. The rule is that that the score gets multiplied by the number of successful taps. Now, everyone goes to where the gilli has landed and the danda-dhaari claims a score, which is the distance in danda lenghts to the circle of origin. If the rest are satisfied, the score is granted. If in doubt, they will actually measure the distance out with the danda. If the distance exceeds the score, it is given. If it falls short, the striker has to swallow the danda lengths by which the score fell short. Failing which, he gets a zero score in addition to conceding possession of the danda.

Kattelata (stick game) - I must have been about fifteen, when my neighbor Samson[3] introduced this peculiar game to our galli gang. Players held longish sticks in hand and there was a smaller stick that lay on the ground. One player was the denner, trying to get others out. The rule was that players with sticks would hit the smaller stick wherever they wanted and everyone followed it. The catch was that you had to keep your stick in contact with a granite stone. If the denner touched you without such contact, then you were out and would become the denner. And you could not carry any stones, only "naturally occuring" ones on the roads were acceptable. Some unfortunate denners would follow the stick the whole day, ending up kilometers away from our galli. So would the others, but with entirely different feelings.

[1] The champion was the guy who had the sharpest throw. He also seemed to combine it with great accuracy and hit rate.

[2] This post might be misconstrued as being sexist, but I have never seen girls/women play these games. However, I believe that some of them, somewhere have.

[3] Samson must have been around 25 then. He was into "body-building" and was indeed in great shape, six pack and all. He also had long hair, which he tied into a pony on occasion. It must have been a meeting of minds for the two of us, even though my parents were very concerned and puzzled at how I could be friends with someone "not of my age group" and worked as a machined tool cutter.

PS: Very likely you have memories of some no-one-else-played-this and/or not-so-common-nowadays games. Do share.

Update: I've changed description of maaram-peeti technicalities to present tense (What? Nobody cares? Shut up!) since I have a gut feeling it is still widely popular. Gilli-Danda too, no doubt. Kettelata, I feel was too rare to still remain extant. But how much do we city-bred mongrels really know?

World Cup Speculation #1

By popular demand and pressure from millions of our readers, we are asking -

Who will be the top a) run scorer and b) wicket taker in this World Cup?

We understand that there are some concerns that can keep you from naming a single player, such as sudden loss of form, injury or dharam sankat in choosing between deities[1]. To counter this, you can name up to three players in each category.

[1] Yes, many other cosmic unpredictability factors being ignored here. Remember Geoff Allott?

Sweet Redemption

Dada is Man of the Series against Sri Lanka. For at least an year before he was eventually dropped, it was clear he needed a break from the international scene - the loss of form, the captaincy burden, the media scrutiny, the politics, all combining to muddle his thinking and mangle his technique. We knew it all along, all he needed was a break. But then, cricket is not just about what happens on the ground. Akash Chopra, who writes really well, gives us a peek into what players have to contend with. For instance, just look at the kind of persistent provocation Dada has to face in this interview!

Update: Check out the first minute of this. Who knew the break would also give Dada wings?

Where else to do Timepass.

The Indibloggies might interest you. No? Not even the Indifloggies?

At times, one feels like making unsolicited revelations. On things such as the blogs one likes most[1]:
The Middle Stage by Chandrahas Choudhury
India Uncut by Amit Varma
Jabberwock by Jai Arjun Singh
Recursive Hypocrisy by Nilakantan Ramarajan (Nilu)

Of course, everyone knows about the cricinfo blogs. Do we really need anymore on cricket after looking at that? Er, and this blog.

Other blogs one likes[2]:
Atanu Dey on India's Development
Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind by Arnab (GreatBong)
My other shoes are Manolos by Shoe Fiend


[1] - Check more than once a day, have read all posts in archives.
[2] - Check only once in a while now but used to follow regularly in the past, have read all posts in archives.

Squad Announced

So, the speculation has come to an end.

The only surprise for me being the inclusion of both Munaf and Sreesanth. I was expecting either Raina or Gambhir to be chosen, Raina being the more likely choice because of his fielding. The selectors went for an extra fast bowling option and it makes sense too, since they are more likely to get injured than the batsmen.

What was that!

Once in a while, players come up with shots that confound and stretch our expectations of what is possible.

Loye sweep: We've seen sweeps off medium fast bowlers going for six before - Ijaz Ahmed comes to my mind. But would you imagine someone doing it against the express pace of Brett Lee or Shane Bond? Mal Loye did exactly that, after breaking into the England team last month aged 35. He had a reputation for that particular shot in English domestic one day and Twenty20 competitions and there was a buzz of anticipation on his debut, with everyone wondering if he has it in him to produce it at international level. He has removed all doubts.

Dhoni Whiplash: This shot is not just extra-ordinary, it is incredible, unprecedented, all-defying. If Mahendra Singh Dhoni's muscular pyrotechnics gave him instant stardom, this made him immortal, irrespective of whatever else he does in his career. And it is only getting more and more outrageous - watch the last minute of this highlights package. How the hell did that first whip go for six over long off?

Marillier Scoop: Zimbabwean Douglas Marillier came out of nowhere in a 2001 match, scooping balls deliberately over the keeper and adding a new shot with his name to the cricket lexicon. The shell-shocked bowlers had no answer and India lost from what seemed to be an impregnable position. The shot is now more commonly employed, here is a good demonstration by Dinesh Karthik(Tapas Alert :)). Also look for Dada's bemused expression.

PS: Loye is at it again, this time against McGrath, who must have thought he'd seen everything! England looking good in the 2nd final so far.

Weighty Kocchen #1

One can afford to be thoughtful and introspective on weekends, even if such mental activity is, in your opinion, only a variety of the all-encompassing Timepass. Please indulge:

If there were no constraints in your life, what would you spend your time on?

If careers, money and relationships were not so attention consuming, doing what would make your life worth the trouble?

Having read the above, become serious, fold your arms across, look at the ceiling, set your thoughts churning and let us know the results of this deliberate consideration.

Items in Indian team #1

I am giggling to myself at odd times from the last two days. It has to do with Trivedi's pearl "And guys like Powar, who look like thieves should not be allowed in the team. In sab candidates ka screen test hona chahiye." He also mused that Powar is the true successor of pocketmaar Sunil Joshi in the Indian team. I tried to rationalize and restrain myself, but it did not help. I have given up after setting eyes on the following.





I like his bowling though. Watching a spinner toss the ball up and beating batsmen in flight to hit the stumps is joyful. Treat yourself, watch the last 5 mins of this.

Aa Sanattth

I, for one, thought Jayasuriya was quietly fading out when he was not in form and announced retirement last year. He was apparently persuaded to reverse the decision and has played some blazing knocks since then.

The old bear has always found the Indian attack to his liking and continues to do so. He can go on for any number of years, if this is any evidence. Just look at those forearms!

If you were born a cricketer...

Tapas has a lovely poser:

"It might be interesting to find out if you were to be born as a cricketer who would you want to be? It maybe because of the career, any moment or whatever else?"

Go ahead, do some soul searching and let everyone know. Yes you, who is reading this and planning to slink away without comment :).

Tiwary on the move

Manoj Tiwary, who we discussed here, is making some big strides already. He has been called up for 12th man duties for the Sri Lanka series starting tomorrow, in addition to being voted Batsman of the Year in Indian domestic cricket.

Tapas wonders how a man with that name can even play cricket. Well, he will have to keep wondering. If you are wary of the hype and statistics (and rightly so), go here and see him face up to Zaheer. He struggles from time to time, but survives and plays with authority, even arrogance.

Update 1: Tiwary gets a taste of the BCCI

Update 2: I want to clarify that I find Tapas' wonder hilariously original and well in keeping with his legacy :). I think my lazy writing did not manage to convey that and have attempted to address it by replacing the original "If you are not satisfied..." by "If you are wary of..". Yes, still falls flat, but I'm trying!

Why we play this game

From the last 3 semesters, the USC/Trojan Cricket Club has been organizing a cricket tournament. I had never played and every Friday, watched wistfully from outside, through the railings of the Cromwell Athletics stadium, envying the lucky guys who seemed to be having so much fun playing under floodlights. One day I decided enough was enough and went up to one of the organizers, Diggy, and asked how I could get a game. He said it was almost the end of the semester and every one had settled teams, but sometimes players couldn't turn up for games and if I came along next Friday, he would try and fit me in.

I promptly went, and played for the Undergrads team, who were bowling first in this 15 over match. The opening bowlers got thrashed and so did the ones who followed. Of course, I rate my right arm fast medium highly (even though my action has been suspect at times, there is something in the recent shenanigans on hyper-extension, no?) and when the 11th over came up, I asked the captain to let me bowl. He was already harassed with the run rate touching 12 and understandably didn't want to bowl an unknown entity. So the regulars bowled, the thrashing got worse and the batting team scored in excess of 200. It was now time for the chase and to make it up to me, the captain sent me in first. Ok! First game in years and facing the first ball! I defended to midwicket and there was no scope for a run. The captain and his undergrad team made their displeasure known - I was sent in to hit out or get out, not to display my defensive technique. Next ball, I didn't care about the line and length and went walking down the pitch, slightly legside. The bowler followed me but the ball pitched right in the slot and as I swung, it must have hit the sweet spot, for it went sailing over the wide long on boundary for six. I had been obsessed with the idea of hitting the first ball of an innings for six ever since I saw, or imagined, Krishnamachari Srikkanth do it in a match from hazy childhood memories. Even if I had only done it second ball, it felt like this crazy, haunting fixation had finally been put to rest. I pulled a short one for six in the next over and got out soon after, but couldn't care much for anything else after that start.

The next Friday arrived and this time I was on Diggy's team, also captained by him. We batted first and I went in one-down. After lofting one to long on for a single, I got out in the next over, walking down the pitch, missing a short one and getting stumped. We then lost a clump of wickets but Diggy stayed on till the end, taking the score to 110 off 15 overs. The other side started the chase and lost early wickets. I was pretty pumped up after catching one of their openers out off a full-blooded pull shot and by the ninth over it looked like we would win this one. The next two overs leaked runs and a couple of sixes, leg side wides going for four, overthrows later the equation read: 25 runs off 24 balls, 3 wickets remaining. I asked for the ball and a short conference later, it went to one of the regulars. Five runs came off the over and a wicket. 20 off 18, 2 wickets. I ask for ball again, another conference, another regular, 6 runs. 14 off 12, 2 wickets left, all regulars bowled out. This time I didn't ask, but there was a conference anyway and the ball went to a batsman who bowled only occasionally. It was deja vu for me from the week before, but then they were just being practical. I knew no one there and no one knew me or my bowling. Diggy knew I hadn't played in years and a fast leg side wide or slow short pitched dolly would pretty much settle the issue. So, the 14th over got underway with me feeling pretty flat, standing at cover point. It was quite eventful and resulted in 8 runs and a run out. 6 off 6, 1 wicket. There was one good batsman left and he had been playing a controlled innings - placing the ball into gaps for ones and twos and putting the bad ones away for boundaries. Another conference due to sheer force of habit, but there was only one option left to bowl the last over. As the tailender hunched awkwardly over his bat, I ran in.

First ball, missed
Second ball, missed
Third ball, edged behind, single
Fourth ball, straight to short cover, no run
Fifth ball, played to midwicket, single available, misfield, 2 runs taken. no problem. 3 needed off the last ball and surely the match is ours now. misfield means the good batsman is back on strike. but he has mostly been nudging and placing the ball and unless I bowl a rubbish delivery, there is nothing to be worried about.
Sixth ball, pitching short outside offstump and the batsman must have flayed at it. recovering from my action, I look in the air to my left and see the ball soaring, arcing up, then down, to the deep cover point boundary. there is a fielder in that exact position, he misjudges it a fraction, comes in a couple of feet from the boundary and it goes just over his head and outstretched arms. For six.

Now for some timepass

Raju Shrivastav is a dream come true. May his tribe increase.

Check out some of his latest comic capers:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DQyYpITNHSQ
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Gh-35gyMUgs

It never gets boring, so go on and scan the list:
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=raju+shrivastav

Stars of the future?

Cheteshwar Pujara (Saurashtra)
Manoj Tiwari (Bengal)
Rohit Sharma (Mumbai)
Gaurav Dhiman (Karnataka)

These young guns have all played for India under 19s and are now in their debut first class season. Pujara, Sharma and Dhiman excelled in the Under 19 world cup, where Pujara was Man of the tournament. Tiwari has lit up the Ranji Trophy this year, playing a major role taking Bengal to the final with big hundreds (including a double) and an average just short of 100. In the final against Mumbai, he made 94 and while he was hitting Zaheer* for six over midwicket and going great guns with Dada(who made 90), it looked like Bengal had a good chance of chasing down the 472 needed.

Yes, all batting prospects and no bowlers to get excited about. Piyush Chawla is the only one I can think of. I guess most if you know him already. He made a quiet test match debut for India vs England last year and has been playing well as allrounder (legspin/lower middle order striker) for UP. He was one of the stars in the U19 World Cup as well but his biggest claim to fame was a googly to dismiss God** in the Challenger Series in 2004.

* Zaheer Khan made his debut for Mumbai in this Ranji final. Growing up, it was his dream to play for Mumbai. But things didn't work out and he played for Baroda all these years.

** For me, there was and is only one God. Tendulkar, Sachin Ramesh. Inevitably, he tamed Chawla in the Challenger the next year to set the record straight. (http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/261051.html).

Indian Team for the World Cup

My batting order for the World Cup:

1. Uthappa
2. Ganguly
3. Dravid
4. Tendulkar
5. Yuvraj
6. Sehwag
7. Dhoni
8. Pathan
9. Agarkar
10. Harbhajan/Kumble
11. Zaheer

For the team of 15, also consider:
13. Karthik (wicket keeping cover is a must)
14. Kaif/Raina/Gambhir
15. Sreesanth/Munaf

I think Karthik is a must. We need wicket keeping cover and he can win matches with the bat as well, capable of both patient accumulation and explosive strokeplay. Since the comeback in SA, his temperament and shot selection have been very impressive.

Kaif has been treated roughly. He never really had a fixed position in the lineup and his inability to adjust and perform consistently looks like costing him a place in this World Cup. At least age is on his side. I'm still sad for Laxman who really deserved to go last time. Yes, I have gulti feelings too, but even after correcting for them! Come on, VVS vs Dinesh Mongia?

Raina looks incapable of playing a long innings. His fielding is sharp, but is it worth a place in the side?

Gambhir looks good when he gets going, but has remained inconsistent.

Sreesanth doesn't seem like he's figured out the one day game. Munaf's fitness is a concern. I guess one of them make it. We don't have many options there. RP Singh is surely out.

Powar seems sure to miss out. I think he is good enough but three spinners is definitely an overkill.

Discuss!

Warm up post

I tried starting a blog on rediff about two years ago, but it never got going.

Today Abhishek suggested a cricket-centric blog, so here goes.