World Cricket II

[sathya_1979]

Brilliant Article in Cricinfo on Commentators:
Where did opinion go?
All too few men stand between us and the mind-numbing drivel that commentators and players spew these days

Sriram Dayanand

February 22, 2010

As 2009 drew to a close, an atypical cricket-related comment emanating from unusual quarters startled and delighted us, and provided a much-needed giggle. A phlegmatic observation by Phil Stoyanoff, the curator of the McLean Park cricket ground in Napier, illustrated a quality cricket has lost in recent times. Questioned about his insistence that the pitch he had prepared for the deciding Test against Pakistan would produce a result, he said, "Yes, because both sides have such bad batsmen. That's my honest opinion - they're useless."

Even before the drum roll had subsided, the damage controllers had been flown in. The PR manager for the New Zealand cricket board practically implored anyone he spotted to "use [Stoyanoff's] comments in context and with restraint". While the well-oiled spin machine had been concentrating on monitoring and orchestrating Daniel Vettori's utterances in front of the press corps, an errant microphone stuck under the nose of an unsuspecting member of the supporting cast had breached the façade.

"Opinions are like a**holes. Everybody has one." So observed a glint-eyed Dirty Harry. Those were the seventies and Harry's wisdom would have been out of place in cricket in the new millennium. The 2000s were cricket's first global television decade. A decade when every cricket utterance reached us bleached, filtered, sanitised, and sans any semblance of opinion. Insight and introspection gave way to inanities of such mind-numbingly repetitive nature that players and commentators blurred into each other - like they had all been sent to finishing school, drilled by Professor Henry Higgins. "Your lips move, but I can't hear what you are saying" sang we, the comfortably numb, as yet another captain released a stream of nothingness into a microphone far away.

Cricket matches of all ilk sprouted year-round and worldwide, like weeds in a time-lapse National Geographic video. As blanket television coverage of events was beamed out incessantly, we had to endure the ubiquitous ritual of the post-match ceremony, the epilogue to every encounter, providing the perfect embodiment of the vacuous nature of the spoken word in cricket over the last decade. Breathless presenters, who appeared to have watched an entirely different match than the one beamed out to us, orchestrated these affairs from logo-laden platforms bearing rows of dignitaries, a la police-identification line-ups. Captains and men of the match dished out homilies, platitudes and pockets of wind.

Dhoni? Ponting? Smith? Strauss? Did it matter? No, for "we were 30 runs short on the day" anyway. Thirty runs short? You were just one run short, but let us not mention the atrocious bowling by your frontliners.

"I just wanted to play every ball on its merit"? Not quite. You spent the first 10 overs fanning your off stump.

"We needed our bowlers to take early wickets". Oh yeah? No shit, Sherlock.

As Ravi Shastri breathed hard like Darth Vader in pregnant pauses mid-question, and as Ramiz Raja entangled himself irretrievably in the web of grammar, players retaliated with, "The team cause was more important for me."

The prized place in the pantheon of inane verbiage that the decade begat has to go to "the right areas", which brooks no competition as the poster child of the malaise afflicting cricket interviews and press conferences. And in the latter half of the decade it came with the perfect accompanying visual - one of a doleful Monty Panesar.

As blanket television coverage of events was beamed out incessantly, we had to endure the ubiquitous ritual of the post-match ceremony, the epilogue to every encounter, providing the perfect embodiment of the vacuous nature of the spoken word in cricket

Making a much-ballyhooed delayed entrance in the third Ashes Test match of the 5-0 whitewash England were handed out in 2006-07, Monty immediately nailed Justin Langer, bowled by a drifting and dipping beauty. When asked later on the sidelines by Mark Taylor about that perfect delivery, Monty, looking like he was about to burst into tears, mumbled, "I just tried to get the ball into the right areas." It evoked images of coaches scheming and plotting with their bowlers, hovering over low-lit tables, moving pins around the "areas" of a pitch map, like General Patton in his bunker pondering the Normandy landing.

Live commentary, a well-established source for opinion and analysis, was scrubbed clean too. Erstwhile opinionated voices were now contracted by ratings- and revenue-obsessed cricket boards, and matches were accompanied by the voices of cheerleaders. Too wary of saying anything substantial, they concentrated on honing their clichés and giggling away with their co-hosts. Even the once edgy and opinionated-by-nature Sunil Gavaskar had begun to sound like a chirpy choirboy as the decade ended.

The scalpel was wielded now and then, but all too rarely. Like when Geoffrey Boycott spluttered, "In my day we didn't indulge in any of that nancy-boy stuff" as the ritual of batsmen coyly touching gloves mid-pitch unfolded between overs.

Ian Healy, Tony Greig, L Sivaramakrishnan, Arun Lal, Michael Slater, Ranjit Fernando, Ian Bishop, Danny Morrison, Kepler Wessels, Robin Jackman, Waqar Younis, Aamer Sohail blended seamlessly into the commercials and background noise of the crowd. Exceptions in the form of the thoughtfulness of Mike Atherton, the loquacious openness of Harsha Bhogle, or the schoolboyish enthusiasm masking a keen insight of a Mark Taylor did exist, but by and large white noise was what we got.

However, nestled amid "right areas", "tracer bullet", "if you are going to flash, flash hard", "not enough dot balls", "it's all happening out here today", "looks like a good pitch for batting" and "the boys gave it their best", there is hope. Flowers can and will burst through the weeds occasionally. Mr Stoyanoff aside, as the new decade dawns on us, the hopes and expectations of the cricketing world were gamely and boldly being borne by two individuals at least: Virender Sehwag and Graeme Swann.

Sehwag single-handedly has done enough to warrant being appointed spokesperson for every match India plays. Picture this: as the winning captain of the Delhi Daredevils in an inconsequential game in the second IPL (his team had already qualified for the semi-finals), Sehwag was asked by a hyperventilating Ravi Shastri how his team motivated itself for the match.

"There is always an incentive to play hard. The team management has promised $50,000 for each win. So there is an incentive," said a poker-faced Viru.

His views on an upcoming tour of New Zealand and the kind of pitches he expected: "If they give us bouncy and seaming tracks, they will struggle against our attack, because their batsmen are not technically sound."

He has also demonstrated that he is equally proficient with foot-in-mouth as he is with tongue-in-cheek, as when he branded the Bangladesh bowling attack "ordinary" the day before India went down like ninepins in Chittagong this year. But get past his arsenal of clichés - the "of course", the "obviously", and the "see the ball, hit the ball" - and Sehwag never fails to elicit a chuckle or raise an eyebrow with a straight-faced gem.

Swann packs some serious insights into his seemingly cheeky and flippant remarks every time he spots a microphone.

"I want my MBE now," he retorted after England clinched the 2009 Ashes, those five words speaking volumes about the aftermath of the previous edition in England.


Asked about his immediate feelings on taking the wicket that sealed the series, he responded with, "I am not really sure. I think I was too busy sliding around midwicket on my knees, looking like a cheap Italian footballer".

Man of the Match at the tense draw in Centurion in December: "We [England] are single-handedly saving Test cricket right now."

Bless them. And may they win many a Man of the Match award in the coming year, thereby redeeming their anodyne brethren and providing solace to our numbed ears.

"In a world full of audio and visual marvels, may words matter to you and be full of magic," wrote English journalist Godfrey Smith. Alas, amid the sensory overload of those marvels, words have ended up victims, trampled in the stampede. Players and commentators, prodded and pressured for soundbites relentlessly, have eschewed wit, humour, incisiveness and openness for mumbling. Exceptions arrive like a bolt from the blue now and again, the element of surprise having more to do with rarity than relevance. Anil Kumble's impeccable impersonation of Bill Woodfull after the ugliness of the Test match in Sydney early in 2008 stood out - not only for its nod to an epochal event but for the power of the words, and for Kumble's intent to express an opinion. Reminding us that in this world of audio and visual marvels, words can be magical too.

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/con...ry/449322.html

[Movie Cop]

Hearing something from "King" Richards after quite sometime now

http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/con...ry/449498.html

[ajithfederer]

Dickie Bird

'Nobody in the world objected to Dickie Bird'

The former English umpire on his relationship with lbws, the best players he saw, the use of technology and more

February 26, 2010

Dickie Bird on the final day of his last County Championship match, Yorkshire v Warwickshire, Headingley, September 12, 1998
"I always told myself if I was physically fit I would be mentally fit. I tried to make myself concentrate every ball, every hour for seven hours" © PA Photos
Related Links
Players/Officials: Dickie Bird | Dennis Lillee | Barry Richards | Frank Tyson
Teams: England

Mr Bird, I am a big fan of you and miss you a lot. What was the reason for your vendetta against lbws? I remember Mike Atherton being shell-shocked when you gave one against him in your final Test. asked Keshav Athreya from India
He wasn't shell-shocked at all. He said he was out and the replay showed he was out. It was the first over of the match, and England were playing India at Lord's. I had no doubt in my mind about it being plumb and he agreed. Lbws are a matter of opinion.

Who would you rate as the best batsman you have seen? asked Matt from New Zealand
Sunil Gavaskar, Barry Richards, Viv Richards, Martin Crowe, Greg Chappell, to name a few, were all great. If I had to pick one, Barry Richards was the best. But the allrounder, in any era, would be Garfield Sobers - we will never see his like again. He was three cricketers rolled into one.

The admiration was mutual. In his books and articles he always said I was the best umpire, and that was a tremendous compliment, coming from the greatest player ever.

How do you concentrate throughout the day? asked Karthick Santhanam from the USA
Honestly, I never had any problem with any professional cricketer throughout my career. As for concentration, I always maintained my fitness. I always told myself, if I was physically fit I would be mentally fit. I tried to make myself concentrate every ball, every hour for seven hours. I kept telling myself, "Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate".

When the West Indian bowlers were at their peak, in the 70s and 80s, did they sledge or abuse the batsmen, or was it only plain banter? Also, how did you tackle them bowling at the bodies of tailenders? asked Dhiren Shah from India
It was only plain banter. I umpired for different generations: in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and I did one in the 2000s when I came out of retirement to do a match between the Rest of the World against the World XI. So that is a long time, nearly 25 years as Test umpire.

If the situation got out of hand I would go up to the bowler, to the captain, and the game used to carry on normally. If there was even a little bit intimidating bowling I would nip it in the bud. I would never allow any bowler to bowl at a tailender, since he cannot defend himself.

What is your opinion on the UDRS? Does it not undermine the authority of the on-field umpire? asked Ananth Swaminathan from India
It does undermine the umpire. We made our own decisions, but now the umpire makes only about two to three decisions. I wouldn't walk out if I were to umpire today. It has become a lot easier for umpires.

Sometimes a team says it doesn't want to play under the supervision of a certain umpire. What do you think the umpire should do in such a situation? asked Shahzad from Pakistan
It is up to the ICC to decide. No country has a say in the matter, but they used to do in my day. Though nobody in the world objected to Dickie Bird.

Are you surprised that football has still not adopted video technology? asked Ashwin Raghu from India
I admire Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president, for not adopting technology in football. Football is only 90 minutes, but in cricket you can't keep holding the game up for referral decisions. People pay a lot of money to watch Tests, so you have to keep it flowing.

Do you agree it is important for cricket to do its utmost to retain its heritage: whites, red ball, five-day games, cable-knit sweaters etc? asked James Totty from the UK
I am a traditionalist. But the game has changed so much and the crowds enjoy the coloured gear, the razzmatazz, all the music, so we have got to go along with that now.

Who was the fastest bowler you watched during your career? And what do you think the future holds for English cricket? asked Siddhant Pradhan from India
The fastest bowler ever is Frank Tyson. The best fast bowler has to be Dennis Lillee - the greatest fast bowler.

As for English cricket, there are some fine young players who are coming through and the future looks very good indeed.

You were known for not giving lbws until you were 100% sure. How do you think the new referral system would have affected your lbw calls? asked Karthikeyan from India
There are so many things that need to be taken into consideration while making an lbw decision. So you cannot go by Hawk-Eye, because it cannot tell the state of the pitch, how much the ball bounced, how much it seamed, how much it swung in the air. Everybody will tell you Hawk-Eye is not perfect. The only man who can give lbws is the on-field umpire.



"You cannot go by Hawk-Eye because it cannot tell the state of the pitch, how much the ball bounced, how much it seamed, how much it swung in the air. Everybody will tell you Hawk-Eye is not perfect. The only man who can give lbws is the on-field umpire"



Who do you think is the best umpire currently in world cricket, and why? asked Varun from Australia
It is difficult to say who is the best umpire in the world now, because all the decisions are made by electronic aids. All the authority has been by taken away from the umpire.

What has been your funniest moment on a cricket field? asked Harish from India
Once, Allan Lamb brought a walkie-talkie along in his pocket. He asked me if I could keep it. I wouldn't have it because it was in the middle of a Test. But he gave it to me and it buzzed - it was Ian Botham calling me.

Which batsman was most sporting when it came to accepting your decisions, and which one least? asked Jitesh Sinha from the USA
Throughout my career I never had a batsman dispute my decision.

Dickie Bird, a retired umpire now, is busy with the Dickie Bird Foundation, which works with underprivileged children across England to help them with all sports. It is run by five trustees who give out grants to give youngsters a start in life.

http://www.cricinfo.com/page2/content/story/449972.html

[19thmay]

Zimbabwe tour of WI's

Only T20I, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Zimbabwe won by 26 runs

Zim - 105 All out.

WI - 79/7 - 20 Overs.

P.S : No Gayle in this match.

Schedule

1st ODI: West Indies v Zimbabwe at Providence
Mar 4 (09:30 local, 13:30 GMT)

2nd ODI: West Indies v Zimbabwe at Providence
Mar 6 (09:30 local, 13:30 GMT)

3rd ODI: West Indies v Zimbabwe at Kingstown
Mar 10 (09:30 local, 13:30 GMT)

4th ODI: West Indies v Zimbabwe at Kingstown
Mar 12 (09:30 local, 13:30 GMT)

5th ODI: West Indies v Zimbabwe at Kingstown
Mar 14 (09:30 local, 13:30 GMT)

Should be a good opportunity for Zimbabwe to bounce back.

[19thmay]

Another interesting series:

2nd ODI: Bangladesh v England at Dhaka
Mar 2 (14:00 local, 08:00 GMT)

3rd ODI: Bangladesh v England at Chittagong
Mar 5 (09:00 local, 03:00 GMT)

Bangladesh A v England XI at Chittagong
Mar 7-9 (09:30 local, 03:30 GMT)

1st Test: Bangladesh v England at Chittagong
Mar 12-16 (09:30 local, 03:30 GMT)

2nd Test: Bangladesh v England at Dhaka
Mar 20-24 (09:30 local, 03:30 GMT)

[ajithfederer]

Bangladesh 260/6 (50 ov)

England 261/8 (48.5 ov)

England won by 2 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)

Match details
Toss England, who chose to field
Series England led the 3-match series 2-0
ODI debuts Suhrawadi Shuvo (Bangladesh); JC Tredwell (England)
Player of the match EJG Morgan (England)

http://www.cricinfo.com/bdeshveng201...ch/426421.html

[P_R]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/544964_M...ater-this-year

Murali to retire from tests

என்னதான் எனக்கு கருத்து வேறுபாடு இருந்தாலும் (ஆமா இவர் பெரிய Richie Benaud !) I must say he deserves most of his applause. No other bowler has dictated terms to the opposition so many times as far as I have seen.

[Plum]

1000 wicket edutha apoorva sigAmaNi aayittu retire aavaarnu pArthEn. Virumandi en kanavula maNNai aLLi pOttuttAn!

[P_R]

With most of the 90s stars gone, cricket post 2011 WC its going to be impossible to watch cricket post 2011.

[Movie Cop]

Vara vara kiricut-la youth flayers oda kOvAlty "tonty tonty" kalAchArathal seerazhindhu vittadhOnu yossika thonudhu...