Lanka kill spirits of game again

Sri Lanka have won ICC spirit of award couple of times in last few years but they have been the team who put the spirits of the game in doubt most often that any other team does. Playing bowlers with suspect actions, calling them slingers, chuckers, playing players who are long gone past their usability, political interference in the running of the game,  talking high of their record outside subcontinent and falling flat when it comes to the action.

What happened in the 3rd ODI @ Lord's was again a prime example of how Lankans take the game to be. Supposed next captain to be plays out 21 balls for 1 run and allows a certain Chandi to score a 100 on Lord's, unfortunately ODI hundreds dont get honor boards in Lord's. So what was all the fuss about?

Dilshan expressed his anger on the go slow approach but offered a booty in the end by saying stuff like a family unit and all. Who are they fooling? Isnt playing slow or blocking something for good part of 3 and half overs at par with spot fixing or little bit of toned down version of it?  Sri Lankans have got super natural flair for personal milestones and that guides their cricketing setup and attitude. They want to own every batting and bowling record in the game, no matter how it comes and no matter how many times they have to kill the spirits of the game.

The Lankans are going to find it very tough days ahead after all the turmoil in their cricketing setup thats going on.  And as long as they shall continue to put individual glory over team, the spirits of game shall continue to be culled on every Lankan match.

Act on Dilshan Sanga...Will you? I believe no

To those who quote that there was an over reaction to the Randigate, my simple answer is  that this team harps a lot on the character (every player has rich loads of character so much so that it leaks out in every statement, press confrence and syndicated articles), so this act of delibrate no bowling was a bolt on their character.

A player signalling Randi to bowl a deliberate no ball is in line of the under arm ball bowled by Trevor Chappell on behest of his brother Greg Chappell.

Many have reacted that other teams also follow the tactics to debarr other player of making a hundred. Fine. But that does not get caught on camera as it did for Randi Kallumullah.  Thats same as all teams do some bit of ball tampering, but except Pakistanis none of them get caught on the camera.

There are differences in every dressing room, but not all of them come in open as it does in Pakistan.

I would be very keen to read Sangakara to make a statement on his wish that he would take the action on fact if somebody had deliberately asked Randi to ball a no ball. Now that Dilshan is out in open as the culprit it would be interesting to see what action Sangakara takes on Dilshan and whether Dilshan gets to play in Delhi Daredevils anymore? DD is inevitable without Virender Sehwag, but Dilshan  ? Well he is not the player anymore he was in 2009.

Mendis

Mendis is on a way down.

I still want him to tour India in October and November. I want him to get hit all over by Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Yuvraj.

And then I wont care if he plays or get dropped.

He has been a major hyped player who just failed to live up to expectations. Players like him get some success against players like Tendulkar and Dravid and then are hyped.

One such player was Shoaib Akhtar. He bowled off this 2 greats on consecutive balls in Kolkata and went off on huge pitch. Hyped and then fell flat on the face with the egg on the face.

I want Mendis to suffer the same fate.

He should know what it means to get success against Tendulkar, Ganguly ,Rahul and Laxman. If this players wont be enough to bay for his blood, Sehwag would play that series as return one from the injury.

So beta Ajantha keep some excuses ready when you tour India. But thats on doubt. He got taile enders against NZ and that wont add to his reputation.

Bring on ur mummy too beta cos u would need somebody to run to when you get hit.

3-0 result for India. That would be some result. Fair and just.

I refuse to accept SL as # 2 or # 3 in Test Cricket. They win at home and they become # 2. They play boring Test cricket. And they are nation responsible for landing Test cricket in such stage when nobody wants to go to stadium and see the game. Their batsmen bat long and long. No reason they hold highest score and highest partnership. They rank bottom in terms of entertainment and quality. Something Blabba King and his deputy Sanga doesnt understand.

I rememeber 90s when India toured SL and the players batted and batted. Sheer disgrace. They kill the game.

Arrange more Tests for them vs BD and collapso kings at Galle and Premdasa. That would give them victories at home and records which no one want to break.

Ump errors

If Australia lose, perhaps they would feel the pinch India felt in Sydney 2008. That would be a karmic retribution. Perhaps then Rick would understand carrying away in euphoria of possible victory is different and playing the game within spirits of the cricket is different.

Cricket is a great leveller and it doesnt consider if its India or England. Some Aussie blogs have mentioned that had Ponting taken the Strauss catch of may be Hussey then his effigies would have been burnt in India. Well may be yes, but then they should have known the anger and the pain when you are resigned to loss for not the game you play, but owing to over appealing and claiming catches when they are not...

English reaction to this catches and umpire reactions have nothing but idiotic. Something they would have learnt while watching Sydney 2008.

And not everybody is like Anil Kumble and his Indian lads who wont sulk. Not everybody takes this incidents in good taste. It would be interesting to see Ponting's reaction on result today if they lose or even if they win......Lets see how the hunters feel when they are preyed down by their own medicine.....

Cricket needs to be sanitized

I hope and believe that with the end of season 2 of IPL the names of Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty and Shahrukh Khan wont come up in the same breath as cricket. Cricket needs to be sanitized with the dirt this guys left in the soul of the game we adore so much, at times more than ourselves.

In bid to glamorize the cricket, the Bollywood and crap gained a touch too much prominence in the IPL. Remember one thing we always should that, the IPL was successful not cos of the glamor factor of this shitty stars, but due to the game. Due to those stars which have entertained us over the decades. The cricketing stars. Nobody else.

The price tags the cricketers carried was for their performance in the Tests and ODIs. The T20 players were not successful as the old horses or the current ones who are success in ODIs and T20s. Age, experience, retired, non retired doesnt matter. All what matters is cricket, its basics and its primary contests -- bat vs ball, mind vs mind.

Cant wait to witness the cricket in its original form. If game would have continued to have prominence in the IPL, nobody (purists) would have complained. But the sidekicks, goons took over and cricket just lost its relevance.

Soul of cricket battered with the closing ceremony of IPL

The closing ceremony of IPL proves that the cricket is dead for Modi , for him all is money power, cricket is just nothing for him. After every final, we see the man of the match, man of the series and of course the players sharing the trophy on the dias. But for Modi, this is all irrelevant. He has got some pop singers from US (Akon), a 4 wife President and old age singer of apartheid days. Question is do we need it ? Do we need to see Ms Bollywood here ? Is Bollywood the center stage here or is it the cricket?

I hope this all doesnt happen in World T20. And I also fear that some of the Indian cricketers now (read RP, Pathan junior, Yuvraj) would prefer playing T20 than Tests or ODIs.

Ms Bollywood, IPL ka jalwa, Akon smack are all fuck.

Gimme back the cricket I know. I dont want all this. No no no. No Bollywood or Lolly or Polly or watever wood. I just need the wooden bat and leather ball. Good bye IPL. Thank God, its over to international cricket now. The World T20 should be preponed a week to get rid of this shit. The Modi shit. The Bollywood shit. The money minting shit.

I was happy with big players putting their best part into the game. Symo, Gilly, Gibbs, RP, Kallis and of course Anil. But with the game being ended, the soul of cricket flew away. And nude show of commercialization of game took over. I feel cheated.

With this Kaif dance, the Wanderers has been littered with the shit of Bollywood which goes and pees everywhere. The hugs, kisses, the parties, the wines, the lap shows and of course the behind the scenes. I feel cricket's soul has been raped brutally and hurt beyond repair by Modi. If he has his ways then there would be 2 IPLs every year. No. Not at the expense of international cricket or to prove that BCCI is powerful and ICL is weak.

I would still prefer the old fashioned whites cricket and the colored cricket in ODIs. Cannot wait for the Windies tour and then the Sri Lankan home Test series. Cricket needs resuccrection(spell mistake) right now. From Moditva. From IPL. From Money.

Lankans blown away......

Do whatever, claim Tendulkar when he is not. Talk crap in the media with "character" and "pride in the boys" or "dirty players", you are not gonna win even a single game. And then Sanga goes in cheapest of way possible. Is that a vice captain supposed to do ? Rather than fight a lone battle, leave the field and run away.

And now they send Chuckali up the order. Ridiculous? Insane stuff. And he is out. 8 gone. A big thumping win around the corner. 4 for Ojha. Not sure if he has arrived. 9 gone. Tendulkar takes it. Minnow hunters reduced to a minnow.

Mahela shoud step down now.

8 in row for India. Equal their own record of 2003 WC.....Bow Wow Ex splendid Mendis on the field :)

Unfortunately cheating doesnt help guys. Be it for so called Haddin or Mahela jaywardhena. Lets see what blabbering the idiot does today. Fuck u idiot!!

What a gripping Test series!!

What a test match……..

It had everything of a classic suspense thriller of a Bollywood movie………

Villain in Ponting, an injured hero in Graeme Smith, Ntini as heroine who bore all the brunt of the sidekicks of the villain (read bowlers) and finally the villain won by 104 runs……….

Spirit of cricket was retained on the same ground where it was hurt and bruised a year ago………

Aussies remain number 1, the real winner today was CRICKET, TEST to be precise…….

Who needs IPL or ICL or T20 ?

Give me TEST CRICKET more, more and more!!!!!

And Graeme Smith – whadda man!!! Absolute hero!!!

Millions of applause to him!!!!!!

Adios Hayden!!

Contrasting Test matches

Down Under :

Australia declare with a lead of 375 with SAfs given 3 and a half sessions to try and sweep Aussies 3-0. An interesting Test match in line with no Smith and no spinner in Aussie ranks. Hussey and Katich slow down the pace. Ponting and Haydos fall for speeding up the things. I feel Hayden should continue his career. They don’t need another rookie in Saf in February. Punter declaration a perfect example of Test cricket, how it should be. No liking for milestones and whatever. Just try to play for lost pride and revive some reputation by winning a dead rubber Test match.

In the days when Aussies would have their luck, they would have won MCG and WACA test. And today rather than fighting to avoid 0-3 defeat, they would have been glaring for a 3-0 series win over the SAfs. Game of cricket is a great leveler. Just last year, the Aussies were on a rampage killing the spirits of the game in the same venue by appealing against everything and anything. Of course the recipients were Indians and the umps were Benson and Bucknor.

I have been an Aussie follower since the 1991 days when India toured them and the commentary, quality of grounds almost took me by surprise. Since then after India, I have been following them. And I want them to win the Test and go for a kill in South Africa. Perhaps all they need to do is remind the Safs of the WC 99 and 07 defeats.

Saf opening with Morkel proved to be disastrous. They should remember that there is no Smith this time. Perhaps selfish Kallis holds the key as he also needs few runs to get past 10k runs.

Neighborhood :

Updates : Sri Lanka won by 475 runs -- fifth highest margin ever. Yet another record, yet another milestone against poor cricketing nations all set to loose their Test status. Guess what follows next ? A tri-series against BD and Zim...Needless to say how many more records would tumble......

SL lead Bangladesh by 620+ runs and yet are batting on and on. Perhaps waiting for Kapugedra 100 and Vass 50. Inexplicable tactics this. They just play for records and figures. They feast on minnows. They boost their batting and bowling averages against the likes of BD and Zim. When they would find no other team to tour, they would happily tour BD and Zim. Set milestones and then listen the MJ blabber that they found out lot of positives and build upon the team. Only to loose against the good teams. This team for sure kills the spirits of the game. No wonder this team holds most of highest batting score records in T20, ODIs and Tests, yet don’t look to be the top on the rankings.

Perhaps 421 BD scored would have scared the insecure SL skipper. What are they going to achieve out of this ? Simple record of victory by highest margin. Few useless 100s and cheap wickets. Or rather wikats. Here are some of the reactions out of SL fans :

Anika: "Surely, 623 runs is about 150 runs past where they probably should have declared. What happens if it rains or some bad light interferes. Mahela is only increasing the chances of a draw."

Hamish: "Mahela should take a leaf out of Ricky Ponting's book and make a sporting declaration. And you wonder why people are defecting to the 20/20 version of the game."

Anandha: "Mahela is a different captain. He may wants his batsmen to have some good batting practice because there will be a few back-to-back to cricket ahead for SL. I don't blame on him giving opportunities to his batsmen to have a go with the bat."

SL fans are used to the negativity their team propogates. I remember the 952 they scored against us in 1997. That was a torture. Indians lost their wkts for fast scoring rate. SL went on batting and batting and batting. Even Vaas scored 71 and MJ debuted in that test match. Attapattu was the only one to have missed out as he was bowled first ball to Nilesh Kulkarni. What was the usage ? Just batting records. 2^nd innings, Murali and Mendis would run through the hapless Bangaladeshis and then they would celebrate the rise in rankings.

Disgusting and irritating to see this Lankans bat and play…………Perhaps they should take a leaf out of Ponting’s book.

Cricket is bACK!!

Welcome back England and cricket resumes in an united, aggreviated and angry INDIA.

Cricket can wait

What happened in Mumbai last nite was terrible, unprecedented, literally shitty and goddamn add all abusive and worst words to that.....Cricket can wait and take a backseat. As Soulberry suggests on his blog, the English team can scrap the tour and we wont object and neither give any false assurances about giving 200% security like our neigbhours do....I also feel that even the Champions league should be scrapped or moved to Australia.

News channels reported that 4 teams were supposed to stay in the Taj Colaba hotel for the CL. And cricinfo suggests that the Mumbai games have been switched to Bangalore and perhaps if the tour goes on, the Brabourne Test might get shifted too.

A black day in country s history.

And would state and urge the bloggers in India and from Pakistan not to equate this situation in Mumbai to the situation in Pakistan. Any terror attack that happens anywhere in the world is condemnable and against humanity. That must be dealt in iron - fist way. So please refrain from scoring brownie points on this issue when it might come to the level of deciding the future of India - Pakistan series.

Games can wait....The life should be primary importance and if thats there, everything can be taken care of later......

Let the action begin

And politics, critics, writeoffs, bloggers, swayambhu experts take a backseat and watch the ball taking on the bat in Irani Trophy in Vadodara. Let the best team win and let the greats perform to their potential and try to stick a win-win situation for all stakeholders except those who in wave of emotions write cynical posts and ask for ridiculous measures to boost their cranky ego.............

Play..........

SL worthy of Spirit of Cricket Award ? Noooo

How can Sri Lanka be awarded the ICC Spirits of the Year award when they have two illegal chucker bowler in their ranks in :

1) Muralitharan

2) Lasith Malinga

Aint they killing the spirits of the game ? Isnt the Chuck earning cheap wkts against the likes of BD and Zim ? 200 odd wkts in 23 Tests against this 2 minnows. Is that boosting spirits of cricket ? ICC adjudicators (minus Siddath Vettimuny) got to answer that. IMHO SL kill the spirits of cricket in worst way like no other team in the world does.