Post Ashes scenario

Congratulations England.

Well done Aussies.

A series well decided in the decider.

Batting collapses cost Australia dear. So Pakistan now have company. They aint alone on Collapsistan. Aussies have joined them.

England were old inhabitants of that planet. They did that many times in 90s. They holded on to their nerve this Ashes. Especially in Cardiff which would rankle Aussies for long.

Indians joined Collapsistan in 90s too when they toured SA. SA were part of the Collapsistan too when they played any big ICC event. They still make their occasional trips there. India too made a recent trip there in England T20 WC.

So aussies would now undergo sea change. Change of captain may be. Ponting cant decide to be captain or not. He has lost 2 consecutive Ashes in England. England and India have been a bumpy ride for Punter. In this 2 countries he has never won a series as captain.

Let alone a series in India, he has not even won a Test as a captain in India.

So what India started late last year, England finished it off. South Africa did it too. Result they are on top.

SL are 2. Yeah yeah I know. I know.

India are 3. England remain 5 and Aussies drop to 4. Pakistan are just touch above NZ and WI. 80s.

The order should be :

SA
Ind
Aus
Eng
SL
.........

But then this is ICC. It has special romance for SL. I too.

Heads would roll. Hussey would go. Ponting as captain would go. There would be end of illusion that Watson is a Test player. Search for a decent spinner would be on in Australia. Though they dont have a big series coming up this year, but they would be eyeing a 5-0 whitewash again next Ashes.

Pakistan and West Indies would be swept apart later this year. That would mark the rebuilding process of the Australian team. Its imminent that Ponting should go. He hasnt done any worthwhile when his star players retired. He is no Border. He has now become a whinner. He couldnt even play a 156 in Oval like he did in Old Trafford 2005.

Bret Lee would be back. Johnson would go out for a while. Hughes would be back and Hussey would end up his career.

England would now aim to beat SA in SA, which they could. Last tour they did it. 2004. Pietersen rose in that tour. SA were poor in Tests those times and today they are 1 not by effort but by luck partly.

England won their first home series against serious opposition in 4 years. Ironically their last significant win was against the same team. Since then they won against BD, WI, NZ and Pak, but these teams aint serious Test teams. They lost to India, SA and drew with SL. Yeah they couldnt get past SL in their home conditions.

Test cricket got a boost with this result. The battle for top spot has opened up. I dont bother about ICC rankings. For me India and SA remain the top 2 test teams. And the battle early next year in India would be a decider who is the best. Before that India would edge past SL in India. Not to forget that the Lankan spinners never have had good times in India. And those flat track bullies too.

Freddie wont play Test cricket longer. I doubt if ever he would play any cricket any more. He is injured again. Thats not a news anymore.

Winners :

Strauss
Swann
Trott
Broad

Losers

Flintoff
Bell
Collingwood

Winners (A)

North
Hilfenhaus
Siddle
Watson

Losers

Ponting
Hussey
Clark(M)
Haddin
Mitch

One more test in the Lanka land and the ODIs take over the limelight starting with a tri-series in Lanka land and 7 ODI series in England followed by CT.

Why should the tri-series even be played. India are going to win it anyway.

Pro India whinning. Yup. If people whine for Mumbai, England and Australia, I proudly whine it for India. India India India. And I am not shameful for it. Hate me or shun me. Pro India whinning shall go on.

Inch closer to # 2.

One step to # 2 achieved. Just need to win one more against hapless featherless Kiwis and there we go. # 2 in the world.

Yippieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Special thing about India vs Pakistan

While every match will be important, the game against India, as always, will be special for both the sides," Gul said. "No rivalry can match the India-Pakistan rivalry and I think the match will be something billions of people all over the world will be waiting for.

"For us, the match is also important for the simple fact that we haven't beaten them in an ICC event and we're desperate to break that sequence [Pakistan have actually beaten India in the 2004 Champions Trophy]

Yo baby, we are waiting for the same too. More than you. More than any other game. And did we forgot to add that the game is in Centurion, the place where Sehwag demolished Waqar's career for good and Sachin pushed Akram to retirement before teaching a couple of lessons to Shoaib Akhtar.

India and Pakistan are special teams. Even special is their rivalry and even special is when India beats Pakistan. You see forgetting those tormenting 90s Sharjah defeats when every match used to be scheduled on Friday for some unknown reasons. Those humiliating moments of 90s when the umpires wont budge to call off the game even if it was dark and the batsmen couldnt see the ball. That was the age when likes of Imran Khan used to add fuel in the fire by saying let Kashmir be decided on Sharjah. Idiot.

It feels special when Indian team of 90s wipes out those painful memories by beating Pakistan convincingly. In fact its now ages Pakistan last won a ODI series against India (2-4 in 2005 and before that in 1999). In between its 3-2 for India in Pakistan, 4-1 in Pakistan and then again 3-2 in India.

A generation of players in India played with an inferiority complex against Pakistan in Sharjah. Bring in any new player and he would excel against India. That was till Saurav Ganguly came in. Tendulkar had shown that the Akrams, Imrans, Qadirs and Waqars can be hit, but team didnt have the confidence till then. Ganguly changed it all and now Dhoni is carrying forward before Dravid did it in 2006.

India vs Pakistan is most awaited match now after all damp series in England, SL and elsewhere. Time for some crackers and time for some rivetting, breath taking action. Who better than India and Pakistan vs each other.

Stating the obvious

http://www.cricinfo.com/slvnz2009/content/current/story/421448.html
Everyone knows it, but why say it after a loss ?

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.

England have their nose ahead

England are going gaga. They feel they are going to win the Ashes. They are sensing the euphoria of 2005 once again. They feel the Aussies would falter in the chase of 466 runs in 2 days and finally they would regain the Ashes 2-1 and then lose it again 0-5 next year.

Right now they have nose a bit ahead, but then Ponting and co cannot be discounted. The 2nd day madness would be very tough to set in again.

Trott is the new star. Wonder who would go out in SA when KP returns ? Collingwood or Bell ?

Australia have made a good start in the pursuit of 546. The positive intent is there. So anything can happen.

All eyes would be on day 4. Make or break day for Aussies ashes bid. if they lose, SA become 1, SL become 2. No.....

Go Aussies!!!!!!!

My second ball duck.

I did an amazing thing today. In the land of baseball and American football, I played desi game and made something which would make Don Bradman and Saurav Ganguly proud.

I made a second ball duck and the team overall made 12 runs.

Lost the game in the first over itself. It was a T12 game and 8 player each side game.

The warmup to the game was pretty good. I bowled with good swing, but didnt get a chance to roll the arms in actual match situation.

I bowled with an action remix of Sachin and Munaf. And had i bowled in real match situation I would have knocked a couple of stumps. I fielded in deep extra cover for good 8 balls and one ball flew over my head for a six.

My first stint with the game ended in a disappointment. But yes I didnt get any cramps or pain. Thanks to the good 7 kg wt loss in 2 weeks here. 82 kg to 74 kg now. I am targetting 68 kg in another month.

Cricket in Middletown, CT, Homerland.

Good start for Aussies, Drug Peddler returns and NZ struggle

So finally Australia bundled out England for less than 340 score and are on a solid start just about at lunch when rain intervened are 0/61 after surviving a hostile bowling spell from outgoing hero Freddie.

On the other hand NZ are struggling but they would be able to save it. Rains. Rains would help them. 1/30 in pursuit of 413. Only Thushara and Murali threat. Mendis is negated and dusted. He is zeroed now. No more splendid, no more mystery. 26 in 3 and then 17 in next 7. Flattened.

In another development Spinnach is left out of teh Pakistan team and drug peddler comes in. Wow. Pakistan doesnt find anybody beyond drug-addicts, rebels, selfish players. Keep going guys. Tight slap to ICC and WADA. And they cry foul on BCCI that they compromise against the spirits of the game.

Here is PCB openly playing a player who has been caught with drugs not once but 2 good times. What precedent he would set on the youngsters like Fawad Alam and Amer is all for a guess.

Comparing an apple and an orange

One innings at the top in Tests for Dilshan and there are comparisons with Sehwag. Hold it. Dilshan is a very attractive batsman to watch when in flow. Equally crap when he sulks. Dont agree. Remember the lone T20 match India played in tour of SL earlier this year which Dilly captained.

Now there is no comparison between Sehwag and Dilshan in Tests. Sehwag has batted for almost 61 odd Tests at the top out of his 69 Tests and made run in almost every conditions -- centuries in Lanka, West Indies, Australia (195 and 151), South Africa (117), England (112), Pakistan (wow 309), India (many more)... and at lightning fast rate. His last 12 100s have been huge. In fact last time he got out less than 150 was good 7 years back against West Indies in 2002. <>

Dilshan has just been promoted to the top cos Warnpura was flopping consistently and they have no Jaya, PattaAttu and Tharanga. He mostly bats at 6 and has tail for his company. But then again when you play mostly against BD and at home, the figures are sure to bulge up.

Contrast that with Sehwag who has played at the top for most of his career and has blunted most of the new ball attacks everywhere. Can anyone forget his 195 at Melbourne or 170 odd in Chennai 2004 against McGrath, Kasper and Warne. Or 201 last year when 2Ms wrecked havoc in Indian middle order. 309 and 319 were on flat tracks but they were against better attacks than Dilly's innings. 254 for that matter too was on flat track, but that was the fastest double century.

Sehwag plays attacking shots in the new ball duration when most of the attacking fields are set and balls does something early on. Dilly comes in at 6 when the ball has lost the shine and is relatively easier to bat on. Plus he plays on flat tracks of Lanka and mostly against BD. So his record wont count against Sehwag.

The story which prompted this was :

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/420632.html

This is like comparing apples to oranges. I have nothing against Dilly. He has been the most underrated player of SL with the likes of Blabba king, Sangakara, 2 Ms and Malinga taking away the limelight. But he is certainly not big as Sehwag at the top and if he has to evoke any comparisons he has to bat consistently on the top n against better teams in all the conditions.

Oval Test, Day 1

England are 8/307 at the end of 1st day of overhyped Ashes finale. Flintoff has one more Test inning to go and he just made 7 on the most hyped final test of any player in recent memory. For that matter Ganguly and Kumble were far ahead than Freddie in greatness, but they dint have that hyped farewell. Ditto for McGrath, Gilchrist and Langer. All big and great than Freddie.

None from England managed to stick to the wicket and play a long innings to bat Australia out of the game. Bell was at 3, Trott was at 5. Finally after lot of mulling and thought process hardly any change was made in the England team. Much ado about anything. Thats like khoda pahad nikla chuha.

Siddle has been an unsung hero for australia and his 4 wkts got Australia back into the contest at 2/176.

The Ashes has been low on quality, more on the hype. Both sides have failed to create the spark of 2005, or even 2006 - 07.

In the end I shall stick to my scoreline of 2-1 for Australia. 340 would be the par score for Australia to bundle out England and then bat the way they have done in the past to get an edge over England for rest of the series.

2001 and 2007 Australia - India series were far better than this contest.....