WTF?

what??
did i hear it right? ICC doesnt want to pay the customs and our enlightened BCCI (some top BCCI official blabbered on the TV) claims that Customs has no national pride and are 'charging' for the cup to be brought to India!
WTF???

are these guys so nuts?
if u can make 1000s of crores on one tournament, paying a few lakhs to customs,a right fees, is found anti national and illogical, eh?
hey..if at all some one shud get something free in this- it shud be the ordinary citizen..bcos he wastes his time, goes stands in queue, gets caned by police, screws up the nations productivity and lives thru a match a full day with meagre facilities (nasty stinking toilets, no water, sucking food,etc on the ground)..
so next time on, let the gates be opened free for these crack cricket fans instead of for the pawars and tendulkars..(yes, its important to remember tendul the great was cheapo too- he pulled all strings to avoid paying the tax n customs for a ferari he got free in 2009! see here)

and to see that many states are jumping to give the cricketers (who are richer than most of our industrialists today) loads of money and free sites, is such a shame.

finally to see that cricket minister who also feigns as agri minister at centre to jump and announce some crores to these 'poor' cricketers is nauseating.. This man Pawar who hasnt bothered to look in to the lives or loss of lives of the farmers or the man who hasnt visited Vidharba- capital of farmer suicides- in his own state is such a shame..and that he doesnt miss any match nor miss an opportunity to announce a few crores as reward to cricketers..

are you all able to digest the way these cheap politicos and the media are jumping to share the moment of glory, which is actually belongs only to the players?
its all a huge bundle of WTF?

Cane them!

yeah! cane them..rip them apart..
people coming standing in queues from previous night and wanting to watch cricket matches..at every venue this is the status..

firstly there is so much lacking in facilities..no toilets..no drinking water..no orderliness..no(enof)food..nothing..over and above this is the security stress..one has to denude to enter the ground..
where is the fun to watch a match after all this??
and why do people flock shamelessly still??

yes, I was a shameless fellow and used to follow the team..atleast then it was only long queues and never caning..for sure, under these circumstances its better to avoid going to the ground..
even better is to shrug off this disease called cricket (like me!!) and be productive..atleast your family will be happy..

iam happy that i didnt even know when the world cup started..Though I did watch the India-England match with friends at bangalore (at home not ground) more to catch up old memories..

Wine, women, weeds..

Hmm..smack smack, eh?
Did any of u guess am going to talk cricket here?
No chance, even if modi were to rig this survey..

Are you so naive to think the good old gentleman’s game is still benignly associated with beer & chips..sorry then u better don’t read further..

Post Azhar, one wud be tempted to suspect anything in cricket..so much that Azhar, prabakar, Cronje et al casted on cricket..Azhar was so bad and dirty that Cong even rewarded him with an MP seat. What better prize for this betting scam and other underworld dealings. Great, eh..
But evolution is norm aint?
So this beautiful game slowly moves towards growth..and enter Modi – now we know he is so capable that he can commit all crimes single handedly- from weeds to women to betting to rigging to political maneuvering to tax evasion to ..phew, am tired..
So whats ur doubt about crickets growth in the above said mode?
Modi is linked to so many scams, gossips around its going to be very tuff to separate truth from rumours (esp the vendetta ones!)..I guess he has rubbed too many people on the wrong side.
I still cannot fathom private jet and all these sudden wealthy strides. What gumption, eh?
Some how iam reminded of Telgi fella and I thinks its as murky and deep as that and he has to be saved as well as culled by the politicos to save their rear end..so lets watch this closely.This is really getting better, far better than most matches in IPL.

PS: hey,by any chance are these games reminding you guys of WWF? or am I alone there?

Moi @ Chepauk

I was there @ Chepauk for the Chennai Vs Jaipur match. My op about T20 is still the same..its tamasha and doesn’t excite me much..and as I pointed out long back, these fellas (be it BBCI or IPL) are never going to learn nor improve the facilities. As long as the people just don’t care and still throng..thats precisely why I didn’t want to go to the stadium, but this time it was big pressure from nephews, niece and a friend from UK.. But the facilities are same- bad. Stinking toilet..no water facility. People have to buy bottles at atrocious price. Needless to say the price of other cool drinks, snax etc.
Luckily a masterful innings by Vijay of CSK..far too straight without any false stroke esp for a T20!
But Its not like before, the grounds charm is all gone. The checks, water bottles being rejected is new and a bore. How we all used to carry so much food for lunch and snacks in to the ground. Not to forget the bugles and all sound manufacturing items, hmmm… But now the sound pollution is manufactured differently. So many speakers all around the ground and always on full blast. So one can come home only with head ache. So it’s all a new scene out there in this cortisone cricket mela.
Or am I getting old??
But one thing that shud hurt all eyes- young or old is the advertisement boards (esp the electronic ones) every where..actually after coming home, I searched myself fully if I was etched with some ad/product..its such a sham..even the huge e-displays are full of ads than meaningful replays or stats. This is pure perversion and cant last long..
This over kill needs to die soon, if cricket has to survive..But, but let cricket die..soon enof that is..let the productivity of this country improve. Iam saying this inspite of me being inflicted by this national disease for so long.

Sachin - a gentleman? a role model??

You see and hear Sachin Tendulkar all around? Its more bcos the media decided to use that thread now, for lack of anything else spicy..we all know their regular 'news deprivation syndrome', don’t we?
Why is 20 years any special? Especially when every outing, every century, every move of his has been celebrated..
I accept some of his strokes and innings are the best you can get to see in cricket. For me the back foot punch screaming to cover boundary splitting the fielders is an unbelievable stroke..and it has been produced too many times and so is the best shot of his.
But I do have lotsa questions esp now that they are ‘over glorifying’ this demi-god..
-has he ever delivered some sensible sentence, even on cricket except the mundane- bowlers didn’t bowl well, batsmen didn’t bat well or such like..
-has he ever stood up to any nonsense diktat of the selectors. Mind you, if he didn’t (or cant) none can..for he is the god of ticket sales all over the world even today. So in his prime he shud have stood up to them..but did he?
-Actually one hears his voice only when he is endorsing some rubbish product for some crores..
-Remember Pulela Gopichand? He refused to endorse pepsi or any cola just after his All England win. He said he wouldn’t endorse any wrong/unhealthy product to next gen!
-Will sachin ever do something like that? Oh! Well, we hear he wudnt drink the competitior’s product..how nice?
-Oh yeah! Remember how he used his clout and pull to avoid paying the tax for a Ferrari? Oops that Ferrari itself came free and he wanted to avoid the tax too..hmm what a standard to set aint for the youngsters?
-Has he ever voiced something politically correct or more so against something (politically) wrong?
-I remember reading (in Madhavan’s report or some such 100+ page document) that almost all bookies attended his marriage! If true what a sham! Esp when so much noise was made that it was very personal and none including the press and big wigs were invited. (I accept that part of not welcoming press and others..but the presence of all bookies, hmm?)
-If many incidents like that of Azhars, prabhakar’s siddu’s, Cronje’s etc
happened so close to your room or right under your nose, what should your reaction be? what do u expect from some star like this? A role model, eh?

I still accept that he is a class act. I do accept some of his innings are fantastic to watch even today. Also his conduct as a player in & off the field, his matured way of carrying his head well in tact above his shoulder all through. There are so many pluses.
I do accept his slips especially in the recent past and I do (almost) endorse every word of Prem’s thoughts on this recently (and do check the link to his earlier take).

But what I cant stand the most is his failure to stand up and set an example..
So I really object to this inundation of adulation. I will question his stand and stature outside the arena..I feel we have every right to question that..He is a great in this game, but not a gentleman and definetly not the god or role model the mass media is trying to portray him to be.

3 cheers to OltenCC

Hey! Olten Cricket Club wins the finals of SwissT20..
see here!
Iam so happy.. The club I was instrumental in founding wins its 1st title in CH..
hmm, not bad..
way to go OCC..
am happy..
though I have retired from "International Cricket";-)

pak cricket

or bombs?
remember we discussed this here last time when India visited pak and I (told u so??) said this imminent bomb shall always be hanging..Their grounds and our players shall be laddu targets all thru the tour and its just that one trigger and one mad paki away..
Whats the need to play so badly there? oh! i forgot, its decided by jokers/politrickans like Pawar & gang..
Just clock back to our good old gulli cricket days..have we ever played when we were unwell or someone at home was serious or some old granny kicked the bucket? or during exams??
so even for our street cricket we needed congenial atmosphere and here in Pak they intend playing! What money can let you pledge some players' life? shameless & senseless bleepers!
Atleast for some more time they will not talk of cricket there at pak..This doesnt mean India is any safe haven but slightly less dangerous. But if there shall be an attack the perpetrator shall be from that same mad house called pak!
Now they have cut a piece of that country and given to talibs..ha haa..may they get a better rule!
as for cricket its best to leave them and zimbabwe behind.

Why should England come?

Why should England cricket team come to play the reminder of the series?
When we donot know our own fate and how & where will the next blast happen, what guarantee can we give these Poms?
Hey, is it not an enormous responsibility?
We are not capable of coordinating our own intelligence nor capable of sealing our borders nor capable of putting pressure on paks and controlling the terror attacks. We just do not have clue to arrest such events from happening nor do we have the guts to fly across and bump off all those terrorists camps (er universities?).
If we do not know how to trace them or to stop/reduce such events why is a cricket teams visit so important in these days?
If I were any of those cricketers I wudnt be travelling. Whats more important than living, eh?
Why should ECB coolly keep these blokes' lives on the line? at what cost, I beg!
ok, The 1st match if pakistan & rain wishes shall be at Chennai! Will I go to see the match?
NOOOOOOOO..not bcos of the cheap facilities provided at the grounds by our rich board, as discussed before, but bcos I do not know if there shall be a blast at chepauk. nor does my govt know.
So why risk? But thats the sane me, not dictated by BCCI's money!
poor English players:-( let allah save them.
lets wish them all luck, but not sympathise if anything untoward happens later.
they took the risk, right? with the currencies dangling in front of their eyes!

Jumbo, adios!

Anil Kumble, the Jumbo in all sense is bidding farewell, deservedly but in his own inimitable style.
One wouldn’t expect him to hang on like many compatriots inspite of form ditching them, but one cudnt have imagined a better timing.
This Engineer by education proved to be more scientific than artistic as a spin bowler..there used to be jokes that his and Venkateshprasad’s roles were reversed;-)
None could have played cricket like chess as kumble very often demonstrated..set piece was a term used in soccer in the recent past but he is one guy who let it be used in cricket too! He really set the batsmen more with guile than spin wizardry. This astute bowler, when realized, he is struggling, just did one thing he always was noted for! being astute - in timing of his retirement too.
He is one guy who always stood for giving more than 100% . All those who struggled to get his wicket when the Indian batsmen would have been falling like 9 pins the other end would vouch for. For that matter did any of us think he would ever overtake kapil’s record! Such was his underplayed existence and style. But jumbo was jumbo in all achievements..yes, me included we would have cried at his failures, but none would have suspected his commitment. Even now, I was not gungho about his captaincy because it is 'template' oriented like Dravid, Tendul and all those typical old school Indian captains, but one cant suspect or hate him right?
There would be so many anecdotes that shall float but one I liked the most reflects jumbo’s attitude the best! After the aussies mauled us for 359 runs in the 2003 world cup finals, one can guess how the Indian dressing room would have been. Its then that jumbo apparently came up with his typical approach. It seems he said all that we need to do is score a boundary(4) off each over and then all they needed to do was take singles off the rest balls in every over. This way they would be left with some overs to spare! Post fact, with the knowledge of the grinding we got, it would sound ridiculous, but then, it was optimism unlimited! Which is what a team needs and if only the full team was as objective and filled with self belief as jumbo, that finals would have been different. Still, jumbo is jumbo! What say you?

role reversal?

Isn’t long since we had some cricket here..thats bcos cricket either has been tooo much or so boring for quiet sometime now..if you see, even the Aussie- Ind series is not commanding any crowd! Bindra or someone talked about lack of facilities in our grounds..regulars here know, i for one has been crowing about this for years ! I hope the board takes it seriously and revamps the grounds with good facilities..atleast I don’t intend going to any ground till they do so. That’s quiet a stubborn statement coming from someone who travelled all the way from CH to UK to follow many matches of the Champions Trophy in 2004.
The talks about the fabfour (or five) will die down for some more time, now that we won. But am sure they are on the wane and deserve the boot sooner than later. Atleast a good youthful team can be built. Dhoni fella really excels whenever he is leading..am sure kumble wud hav muffed atleast a handful times if he were in and may be we wud have drawn or just about scraped with a win. Oh! BTW who wud have taken the Oz wickets in 1st innings then?
I wish Kumble feigns injury like tendulkar(when ever in dubious form) does and stays away, else it shall revive interest in this series bcos Aussies will be given a good chance to bounce back. As for Gangs, good for him- no more politix and no more suspense with the picking of every squad. Its time anyway that he hung his boots. Laxman and Kumble will fade away soon..That will leave tendul & Dravid a couple of years and its ok. May be tendul will chase a couple of more records and this HMV boy shall leave in peace. Not that there are great guys out there waiting in the fringe. Badrinaths, Rainas, Rohits all may be very ordinary players but in lively pitches the same dicey innings of the fab5 shall be emulated by these newbies too, if not better! So its cool if they leave..if they leave one by one, like gangs, lets applaud and don’t make an issue out of it, lest they think we all need them and stay put.
Talking of aussies, its so heartening to see that so much Indianess is visible. They are batting the demons of pitches where none exists, bowling exactly like Indians (I mean before) where the opponents extracts so much pace, bounce, swing and spin in the same pitch and even fielding with drooping shoulders, missing run outs..Oh what a reversal, esp after all that big talk by Ponting before the series. Their media is also behaving like ours, hunting and haunting them for all non-issues.. ha ha..am enjoying every bit of all these off-the-pitch incidents. Here you go, if you were a cricket fan like me once and think its not worth following like before, go and enjoy all these fringe activities..they are funny and engrossing:-)

world cup and 25 years!

Will any other country guy understand that India is celebrating, heavily that too, the 25th anniv of the cricket world cup we won looong back in 1983!
Think what should Aussies do in that case..and these guys here esp the media are making such a brouhaha about it and its really embarrassing..
to top it all that whole team that won in 83 went to Lords, England and celebrated and even had a champagne opened. They seriously did that, can u believe it? what the phuck is it..these guys are going gaga over a cup won before most of its viewers today were born! Its the most popular game in India, most played viewed and what not..and thats the only cup we ever won..and still being celebrated! doesnt that convey something? hmmmm...

Tamasha at IPL continues..

Mallya spells his mind and that's fodder enof for MSM..only proving that he is thinking postfact..who in his mind wud invest so much on Kallis and then have him sit out! Which of that is wrong? If u don’t have (good) advisors why wud u even venture out? And the bytes that come out for Blore players (chk those of Shahrukh and VVS esp) is even more funny.. But can any one justify picking Joshi and Kumble:-) for how many $$$ that is?
Slowly but surely IPL is showing off that it defied logic from the start..good for the game..
I only wish somewhere it hits the Board and they suddenly spruce up the grounds and atleast have the toilet facilities and other basics straight..what a shame we still talk of such issues when their coffers are overflowing…
'Shame' reminds me of Harbajan and looks like he shall be let off..that's not good for the game and not for Team India surely..but we all know everything is ‘fixed’ and follows a pattern in this game these days..else how wud one explain this sudden “suspended sentence” for Shoaib Akthar and this convoluted design to let him play some matches for the kolkatta team..This sure is not a sport anymore folks..
while on it, to talk of some plus- see warne bowl and captain (oh! did i get that order wrong)..to be fair I told long back that the teams to watch for wud be Hyd and jaipur. one failed..but i backed Jaipur bcos i love watching warney bowl..but he sure has bowled us all over not only with his wrist but the googlies of thoughts with which he entangled all opposition till date! what a miss for Oz ain't?

If u cant beat them, beat them..

or him?? so thought Bhajji and so this comedy unwinds at IPL..its an irony that the 2 worst behaved players went in to a spat..or is it a slap?
the only worthy thingy to watch for me in IPL till date;-)
what a shame..slapping another player, esp some one who was in ur dressing room till very recently..Now we know whether it was maa ki or monkey..or may be he is actually that 'obnoxious weed' of cricket and needs to be removed..
I will be terribly upset if he is not banned for lifetime.. what a shame the act itself was and worser sham it will be if he is let off with some slap on the wrist.
That shall leave one more weed - the one at the receiving end this time, sreesanth, to be removed soon..guys with less talent and so much of histrionics and regularly bringing the game to disrepute..it shud be good riddance to bad rubbish, deservedly!
I vaguely remember these 2 guys had a spat last year too in some local tournament (Ranji or challenger or something!)

Chennai cricket test

NO! I will not go there..
Iam glad there are very few spectators at Chepauk. I really wish the turn out is very less for all these tests..in spite of the mind boggling amounts amassed by BCCI, none of the grounds (may be single exception of Mohali) is anywhere near customer friendly atmosphere. Pathetic facilities esp considering the money BCCI mints..its a shame that the basic toilet & water facilities will be the worst one could imagine and just think of the food (stall) options one gets inside..But they will never learn.. compare that to the hockey ground (& the tennis court too) at Chennai by the prev J govt, as mentioned long back here. Another reason why cricket shud lose spectators is to let the IPL fellas lose and facilitate some sensible correction there.

Caveat: This doesnt mean my love of cricket is lost. I will still relish the sweet wood sound out of a well middled straight drive ..I will still go and play that occassional game with my friends..but thats bcos, as repeated many times here, thats a disease am afflicted with it, but wish the nextgen escapes that.

Incredible win!

Yeah, The Indian cricket teams win at perth was amazing..as it comes against the best team in the world at their backyard, in what is considered the fastest pitch in the world..added to these it is the Aussie’s favorite hunting ground..they haven’t lost here for more than a decade here..
First impressive step was choosing to bat on winning the toss..that spake of spine- a lost organ with most Indian captains esp Dravid..choosing to bat 1st at perth is a very bold statement to make and that in itself will put the oppsn on back foot..and from there on no looking back..we dominated most sessions.. Sehwag that way is an advantage..the 1 out of 4 times that clicks with the bat he really puts the oppsn on the defensive..he also gives an additional hand to bowl and adds edge to field tactics..
It’s a great win and actually if we had not (as is our wont mostly) dragged defeat on to ourselves at MCG, inspite of the Sydney man of the match ‘Bucknor the blind ’, the scoreline for the series shud have been 1-1 and Adelaide wud have been a series decider and so hopefully a cliff hanger.
The Oz actually smelt that, an insurgent India, coming, that’s why created opportunities for silly pranks and made mountains of molehills and picked on Bhajji who is the easiest pick for suck pranks..It was good that Ind put that Sydney fiasco behind and went out and put up an incredible show..full marks to Kumble..

While on the topic, removal of the big 3 from the ODI is creating flutters and as usual Cal is burning all effigies..lets play for the future..gangs & co do not deserve to be in the shorter version as its difficult for any captain to hide them in the field..they wud have an occasional field day with the bat, but mostly they will be a liability on the field..if they don’t move away on their own, they have to be shunted..its cool! Let the younger, fitter ones be given a chance..

Cricket

The Symonds- bhajji issue: did we hear Racism?
Bull shit..if any one thinks Symonds shud not be shouted at bcos he is the only colored in Oz team, I beg- who is racist here? If he feels threatened in an all white team or Oz society , its his problem..so whats that racism crap our media is talking..
Why was Symonds in the picture at all if Bhajji had a rub with Lee? What does he mean by saying ‘I had a crack at harbajan for this’ and why?? If he says he had a crack then let him also be ready to receive a crack as well!
As for ‘monkey’ thingy itself, the crowds miming monkey chants etc, its just stupid and shameful but no racism there..

Then we have Bucknor! Oh man!! He shud be siphoning a big part of his sal to someone high up, else it’s a miracle he is an elite umpire still after all those goof ups all along. Its no coincidence most of his mistakes were against India. IMHO he shud have been sacked the day he mimed something ugly (indicating alleged usage of some toffee by Dravid) to Dravid, one of the impeccable guys out there.

Now, this is a very good one! Aussies have been having a crack on all players and have been getting away bcos they used to always say ‘lets leave all that’s done in the field in the field itself’ and all teams foolishly thought that was the spirit and never complained! And here, they like fools went and cried wolf.. whining and running like a primary school kid..now there is no escape for them..all teams will go running to the umpires or other officials about all that they usually mouth during the match..(remember that Sarwan- Mcgrath issue?)

A good dev in Oz is that some of the sports legends have got together and shall complain to Aus cric Board about sagging aussie image!

So u saw it..we said this post is about cricket and we have not spoken anything about a game here.. so much for this series! But that’s how pathetic our performance has been, so all our media and followers have pounced on these distractions and are having a field day..
Still Iam happy that once BCCI showed some spine, right or wrong, oz needs this kick up their back..

younis and pak cricket

How many times will younis khan refuse to be the captain, after demanding his rights(rightfully) and still pak board will behave impish like our own bcci, I dunno..even before this last test he refused, just bcos he was not given the team he wanted..he is such a delightful player and an aggressive captain, but one who knows the limits..a decent bloke who wud applaud the opponents for their credible efforts (oh! may be thats no-no in pak! esp when he appreciates the likes of Dravid, yuvi)..
so decent, friendly, thinking captain that he is and shud have been given full charges is always pulled in only as a stop gap and dire situations..no wonder pak is being steamrolled by our team:-)

2020 – success and excess

Hmm..its all happening there! Even Joginder singh smiled twice in 2 successive days! Phew!
and we won it..a world cup final..a world cup for which there was no interest for our BCCI nor us general junta (atleast in the initial stages)..and what a win..
to add a cliché here: nothing succeeds like success..and so the viewership (and so the advts), interest and the following tremendously increased!
from the south Africa match on, our guys turned the close ones in our favour, which normally wud have been the other way..as a norm, esp at bigger stages, we wud be losing matches we shud have won..
the power of youth, eh? Worth all the fun, this win..special mention needs to be spelled about Dhoni..kept his cool all along in all matches, rotated well, field placings were good..looks fine..more assessment after 1st 3 ODIs against aus..looks a good long term prospect though!

Once back we will have the 3 stalwarts back and come to think of it- where will the new captain hide them in the field?? And what will happen to guys like gambhir, Rohit, joginder who performed well?
Ok, lets spare all these ponderings now and join the euphoria..it was fun to win and esp against Pak..(oh, what was that about thanking all muslims in the world- by pak captain..man! how much they luv their foot and inside their mouth too bloody often!)
Oh man! What a welcome rally it was and how politicians enjoyed stealing the thunder..and the vulgar amounts of money and prizes being showered on the cricketers.
Why don’t they think?? Are these cricketers short of money at all? Is the system or board lacking it?? Why such nonsensical shower? Esp when none of these people moved a bit to even congratulate other sportsmen (eg. Vishy when he excelled even recently or the hockey team which won Asia cup or shooting or other little known sportsmen) or offer such currency rains..what a pity..
And add to that the news starved TV channels all going gaga and covering the neighbors to maids of all the cricketers..vulgar excesses all these..
Now, I wonder- if these cricketers took all this with great smile and happiness, will they treat the abuses, complaints, cries and little bit of painting when they fail miserably..If they think the answer is NO, they better behave and behove.
Did u see all those sms about 1962,1971 and 2007 or about men in blue and sensorable comparisons? ROTFL..

welcome ICL!

The new cricket league pushed forward by the zee group is moving fast, or so I wud guess seeing the number of loud noises one hears and esp BCCI trying to scuttle it!

hey, ICL already has their website running here and BCCI does not have one till date. If ICL were to only maintain this pace and improve on the professional front, they can only go places.
I wish they do. The BCCI which runs (so badly that is) in a very cheap and unprofessional manner needs competition and cricket also needs such wider coverage and better people to take it forward. (ok, my love for cricket apart, i still maintain that cricket is not a great sport to continue for a country like ours and may be we shud promote hockey, football- smaller and sporty ones. but thats for another day..for now lets talk on ICL)

ICL needs to just go ahead like the England football league, where the lack of good players were replaced by foreigners (same was also taken in to county cricket) and so very healthy and competitive matches resulted, and went on to dominate the game, more than the national or intra-national matches.
way to go ICL, just ensure more professionalism is pumped in and also use the B and C centre grounds and the reverse flow can happen.BCCI cant keep u out of the main cities for long!