BCCI Bungles Again

By Gulu Ezekiel

The BCCI needs to get its priorities right. Is it planning to start a second IPL season (along with the Champions League) or is it in the business of nurturing and building up the national squad for international cricket?
It is currently caught between two stools and the fall-out is the messy Virender Sehwag affair.
It is a pity that captain MS Dhoni has been left holding the baby while the BCCI had no business allowing a half-fit player to travel with the team, leading to all sorts of rumours.
But it should be pretty obvious by now that players are picking up injuries during the IPL or playing in the league while half-fit in order to fulfill contractual obligations to their employees—which in the case of the IPL is not the BCCI but corporate houses.
This has been the case both with Sehwag and also Zaheer Khan who played in India’s opening match against Bangladesh despite not being fully fit.
Things are even direr for England with Kevin Pietersen carrying on till the Ashes with pain killing injections while there is a cloud over Andrew Flintoff’s condition.
Last year Sachin Tendulkar came into the IPL only after the first half was over while nursing a groin strain. This forced him to pull out of two ODI tournaments right after the IPL had ended as he obviously aggravated the injury while on the payroll of his corporate franchise side, the Mumbai Indians.
Since the IPL is apparently a force of nature, the only way out would be to shorten the format into a two-group league-cum-knockout, reducing the schedule from the currently ridiculous six weeks to three or four.
That of course is unlikely to happen. After all, the longer the tournament, the more the viewers and that is where the real money lies.
International cricket, RIP!

Australia Lose the Plot

By Gulu Ezekiel

Australians just do not seem to grasp the idea of 20/20 cricket—at least when they are representing their country at the international level.
In the 2007 they somehow limped to the World Cup semifinals where they were trounced by India. This despite losing two of their earlier games, including to Zimbabwe.
This time they have failed to progress to the second stage from admittedly the ‘group of death’, losing both to the West Indies and Sri Lanka.
Ironically it has been the Australians who dominated both season I and II of the IPL.
In 2008 it was Shane Warne who led unfancied Rajasthan Royals to victory while Adam Gilchrist followed up with the equally unfancied Deccan Chargers this year.
In 2008 it was all-rounder Shane Watson who emerged as the Most Valuable Player while Gilchrist picked up the award last month. And while Shaun Marsh was the highest run scorer in 2008, Matthew Hayden finished on top in 2009.
Australia must surely have missed the dynamic skills of Andrew Symonds who was sent packing for hitting the bottle once too often. Also, it could well be that captain Ricky Ponting was too focused on the more prestigious Ashes series ahead.
In fact it is this habit of not quite taking the newest format of the game too seriously that appears to hamper the Aussies.
This is certainly not the case with the IPL where the huge monetary rewards on offer apparently bring out the best in many players.
Australia are unique in that they were one of the two nations in the very first Test match (against England at Melbourne in 1877), the first ODI (also against England at Melbourne in 1971) and the first T-20 International, against New Zealand at Auckland in 2005.
That first match was treated as a bit of joke by both sides. But with 20/20 now overtaking 50-overs ODIs in terms of popularity, it is time perhaps for the ODI and Test world champions to give it a fresh look.

Minnows Make their Mark

By Gulu Ezekiel

The term ‘minnows’ (dictionary meaning, a small fish) is commonly used to describe the teams in the 20/20 World Cup that do not enjoy full international status and had to qualify for the tournament.
This time around they consist of Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands. Bangladesh too often get clubbed into this group since they have been under performing since being granted full Test match status back in 2000. Zimbabwe also fall into Bangladesh’s category but are missing in England due to political reasons.
Well, the Netherlands shock defeat of England on the opening day on Friday was certainly one of the biggest achievements of the small fish over the bigger variety—kind of like a gold fish crushing a piranha!
But it was not the first and certainly not the last and it is this shortest variety of cricket that leads to the biggest upsets.
In the inaugural 2007 World Cup it was Zimbabwe that put it past Australia and Bangladesh that stunned the West Indies.
The first big upset on the world stage was when Sri Lanka upset India in the second World Cup in England in 1979 when ODIs were played over 60 overs.
That fast tracked the Lankans to full Test status which they gained two years later and just four editions of the World Cup later, they were crowned world champions, a remarkable success story.
Kenya’s defeat of twice world champions West Indies in Pune in 1996 is still remembered as the biggest shock of them all while Zimbabwe claimed the prized scalps of Australia in 1983 and England in 1992. Bangladesh had a dream tournament in 2007 when they first shocked India and then South Africa. And Ireland eliminated Pakistan.
There may not be many more shocks in the tournament, but the Dutch have certainly created headlines around the world by beating the inventors of cricket at the (former) home of cricket.

Fielding Flops

By Gulu Ezekiel

The biggest impact One-day cricket had on traditional cricket was to raise the all round standard of fielding.
Surprisingly though that raising of the bar does not appear to have crossed over to 20/20 cricket judging by recent evidence.
The second season of the IPL in South Africa saw the worst catching performance in an international tournament in years.
Many theories were put forward for the spate of dropped sitters, ranging from the intensely cold weather to the unusual natural lighting conditions prevalent in South Africa at the time.
It all culminated in the world record holder for most catches in Test cricket, Rahul Dravid flubbing a catch in the final that he would have taken with ease nine times out of ten.
The ongoing T-20 World Cup is only two days old at the time of writing. But the four matches so far have shown us some of the worst ground fielding in living memory.

The abysmal display by hosts England in their opener against the Netherlands was summed up by that horror of a final over by Stuart Broad.
The spearhead of the English bowling attack messed up three run out chances, including from the final ball of the match and also dropped an easy catch off his own bowling. It would have been hilarious if it had not been so pathetic.
Though the West Indies did well to beat Australia in their opening match, their fielding left much to be desired. Expert commentator Ian Chappell, not one to mince his words and one of the world’s greatest slip fielders in his day, could barely conceal his contempt as the Windies made a complete hash of things in the field.
It was no better when Bangladesh took on India. The Bangla fielders time and again missed the stumps and the wicket keeping was a disaster too. And who could believe Yuvraj Singh would floor the simplest of catches? That too just minutes after taking a blinder.

It's deja vu all over again

By Gulu Ezekiel

A wretched opening ceremony, plenty of rain and a possible early exit for the hosts.
The World T-20 is beginning to give déjà vu to cricket fans around the world.
Exactly 10 years back when England last hosted a World Cup (50 overs that time), it was precisely this scenario that unfolded.
The Netherlands defeating the inventors of cricket at (the former) home of cricket though really takes the cake!
Another familiar World Cup scenario is a little masala thrown into the mix in relation to the Indian squad.
Back in 1999 there were calls for captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s head midway through the tournament when it looked like India would fail to make the second stage. They finally did but it all fizzled out after that.
Then four years later in South Africa, a poor performance against the Dutch and defeat at the hands of Australia in the group matches and once again the Indian public were baying for blood.
In 2003 the fans were encouraged by some loudmouthed former cricketers now masquerading as expert commentators who really should have known better than to whip up passions.
Eventually the public backlash worked wonders. The Indians made it all the way to final for the first time since 1983, before being routed by Australia.
This time around it was one mischievous report in a newspaper that is known to float rumours that stirred things up within the team.
I always shudder when I see a question mark against a headline that too on the front page and this time was no different.
Captain MS Dhoni has done well to tell it like it is and give a piece of his mind to the media. Hopefully, this too will motivate his boys to show what they are worth.
On the other hand, India’s opening match on Saturday night is against Bangladesh.
Remember the 2007 World Cup. Let’s hope it’s not déjà vu for Indian fans this time!

20/20 Is a Lottery

By Gulu Ezekiel

The very nature of 20/20 cricket means it is always a challenge to pick a pre-tournament favourite.
The IPL proved that if proof at all were needed when the bottom two teams of 2008 competed in the final and last year’s basement team Deccan Chargers clinched the title.
However international 20/20 cricket is somewhat more predictable as national teams have players with well-known track records unlike franchise-based club sides who have so many unknown faces.
The 2007inaugural World Cup tournament in South Africa certainly saw a shock winner as India had played just one season of domestic 20/20 and a single T-20 International by that stage.
How times have changed. Now India must start as the favourites considering the entire team is fresh from the second IPL season. And the thrashing of Pakistan at the Oval on Wednesday must have done their morale no end of good.
Pakistan lost in that dramatic final two years ago in Johannesburg. But with all their players excluded this team from the IPL, they have a raw and untested look about them.
Australia also made it to the semifinals in 2007 despite their shock defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe who will be missing from this year’s edition.
However, the sending home of Andrew Symonds for yet another disciplinary infringement will see them without their star all-rounder who had a brilliant IPL season. And it must surely hit the morale of their camp hard to lose such a vital player on the eve of the tournament.
England too have plenty of 20/20 experience and they must fancy their chances this time around as the hosts.
For those who prefer their cricket—whatever the format—played by national sides rather than the corporate variety, the World Cup promises plenty of action over the next two weeks.

How 20/20 Grew

3/6/09
By Gulu Ezekiel

A remarkable fact of recent cricket history is the part India has played in the growth of first ODIs and then the 20/20 version of the game.
Back in 1983 no one gave India a ghost of a chance in the third edition of the Prudential World Cup in England. The players had precious little experience of limited overs cricket having played just a handful for their country. And in the previous two cups they had just one win to their credit—against East Africa.
Test cricket was pretty robust in India despite the dire home series against England in 1981-82 which the hosts won 1-0 with four drawn. The first ODI series on Indian soil was staged during that same tour.
How Kapil Dev’s side turned the cricket world upside down by beating twice-champions West Indies in the final at Lord’s has been recounted countless times.
It led to a cricket revolution with the BCCI snatching hosting rights for the 1987 cup out of the grasping hands of the English authorities.
The explosion in 50-overs cricket was powered by India and Pakistan with Sharjah leading the way. It looked like ODIs would swamp Test cricket, but the traditional form of the game held its own.
Then two years ago the Indian board was dragged kicking and screaming to the inaugural World Cup 20/20 in South Africa. The BCCI opposed the format as it felt it would take the sheen away from ODIs.
This time it was the turn of MS Dhoni and his boys to stun one and all by beating Pakistan in the final at Johannesburg.
Out of that triumph came first the ‘rebel’ ICL and then the Indian Premier League which threatens to change the face of world cricket forever after just two seasons.
And all because of two massive upsets. Who would have guessed, India dubbed the ‘dull dogs’ of cricket till the 70s would usher in instant cricket’s revolution?