(A report on a website in BLACK, with Blog's comments in RED and all in jest)
REPORT:
The Indian team management on Friday rejected (At times it becomes important to show guts) Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds's allegations (Sore Loser!) of racial abuse by Harbhajan Singh (The gritty warrior who got under the Aussie Skin) asserting the off-spinner did not say anything offensive (Actually they meant Harbhajan was aggressive but not offensive which the Aussie often confuse with, when they are down) .
Although Harbhajan has not made any statement on the matter (Wise thing to do), Indian media manager M V Sridhar said the spinner told the management that he did not taunt Symonds racially (though he may have taunted otherwise, and did not walk away!) during their spat (who started it!) on the third day of the ongoing second cricket Test in Sydney on Friday.
Sridhar also rubbished suggestions that Symonds' complaint against Harbhajan would have any bearing on the relationship between the BCCI and Cricket Australia (After all, the relationships based on money are the strongest in cricketing business)."The relationship between the BCCI and CA is excellent and this Test match has seen some very competitive cricket being played. We would not let allow a small incident to overshadow everything," he said.
The exact comments are not known but Sridhar confirmed that a "hearing" against Harbhajan is scheduled for Saturday (to deflate our man during these critical times) .
Umpires Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor (the usual suspects) have laid the charge after consulting an agitated (thanks to Indian fightback) Ricky Ponting at the end of the day's play.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Neutral umpires are fine but...
Sunil Gavaskar, one of the most respected batsmen of yesteryears and a terrific commentator, has said that the system of neutral umpires will continue despite some questionable decisions as ''If a third country umpire makes a (questionable) decision, it won't be as acrimonious as if a home umpire made that decision.''
http://cricket.indiatimes.com/ICC_to_stick_to_neutral_umpires/articleshow/2674004.cms
Fair enough arguments made by Sunil Gavaskar in the article above. In fact, if India could draw the series in Australia in 2003-04, win in Pakistan in 2004, and Australia could beat India in India in 2004, it was also mainly due to the presence of neutral umpires.
But this system can be streamlined by having a system of CHALLENGES as in Tennis, and by ensuring that if one team has grievances against a particular umpire, he should not be standing in the series involving that team. That will ensure that some umpires are not blatantly biased.
Then the panel of neutral umpires supervising tests can also be doubled, and it should not be difficult considering there should be hundreds of umpires with better calibre/skills than the likes of Bucknor.
Unless these steps are taken, the very purpose of neutrality will be defeated and ugly instances of unfair behaviour continue to raise their head.
http://cricket.indiatimes.com/ICC_to_stick_to_neutral_umpires/articleshow/2674004.cms
Fair enough arguments made by Sunil Gavaskar in the article above. In fact, if India could draw the series in Australia in 2003-04, win in Pakistan in 2004, and Australia could beat India in India in 2004, it was also mainly due to the presence of neutral umpires.
But this system can be streamlined by having a system of CHALLENGES as in Tennis, and by ensuring that if one team has grievances against a particular umpire, he should not be standing in the series involving that team. That will ensure that some umpires are not blatantly biased.
Then the panel of neutral umpires supervising tests can also be doubled, and it should not be difficult considering there should be hundreds of umpires with better calibre/skills than the likes of Bucknor.
Unless these steps are taken, the very purpose of neutrality will be defeated and ugly instances of unfair behaviour continue to raise their head.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Obeservations that VVS made
In a TV interview today, there were two important observations that VVS Laxman made about the track, and the situation at Sydney.
First, he felt that the pitch will have lots of spin on fourth and fifth days and, so, India will have to ensure a big score in their first innings. Already in Australia's first innings, Kumble and Harbhajan got lot many balls to turn and even Hogg turned quite a few, he said.
Second, unlike the pitch at Melbourne, the bounce at Sydney was relatively even because of which he (Laxman) was able to play pull shot so freely. So it should not be too difficult for the Indian batsmen, including Tendulkar and Ganguly – the seasoned batsmen on the crease.
Meanwhile, Australia coach Tim Nielson believes that the match is evenly poised and as the new ball is due after 18 overs on Friday, the first session will be extremely critical for both the teams.
Of course, it will be worth getting up seven hours from now, (Five AM IST) to watch how the 1st session unfolds.
Even if they are unable to take the lead, India will need at least 200 runs more in the 1st innings to put Australia under pressure on a spinning track and hope for the repeat of Adelaide four years ago. In that match, Australia had collapsed in the second innings after taking a small first innings lead of 33, leaving India with a target of 230, which they achieved with four wickets to spare.
With 270 overs still to go, it is anybody’s game. Unless, of course, there is an inspirational spell by someone from the Australian side tomorrow morning, resulting in over 100 lead for the Aussie. That could be a decisive lead on this track for a team batting third.
First, he felt that the pitch will have lots of spin on fourth and fifth days and, so, India will have to ensure a big score in their first innings. Already in Australia's first innings, Kumble and Harbhajan got lot many balls to turn and even Hogg turned quite a few, he said.
Second, unlike the pitch at Melbourne, the bounce at Sydney was relatively even because of which he (Laxman) was able to play pull shot so freely. So it should not be too difficult for the Indian batsmen, including Tendulkar and Ganguly – the seasoned batsmen on the crease.
Meanwhile, Australia coach Tim Nielson believes that the match is evenly poised and as the new ball is due after 18 overs on Friday, the first session will be extremely critical for both the teams.
Of course, it will be worth getting up seven hours from now, (Five AM IST) to watch how the 1st session unfolds.
Even if they are unable to take the lead, India will need at least 200 runs more in the 1st innings to put Australia under pressure on a spinning track and hope for the repeat of Adelaide four years ago. In that match, Australia had collapsed in the second innings after taking a small first innings lead of 33, leaving India with a target of 230, which they achieved with four wickets to spare.
With 270 overs still to go, it is anybody’s game. Unless, of course, there is an inspirational spell by someone from the Australian side tomorrow morning, resulting in over 100 lead for the Aussie. That could be a decisive lead on this track for a team batting third.
Forget about an explosive start from india
When India start their innings , they will be in a defensive frame of mind, commented Gavaskar just after Australia crossed 400 runs.
That is understandable when you are chasing a total in excess of 400 runs because the first thought will be about saving the test.
Also, as going 0-2 down will curtail your ambition drastically to the thought of just saving the series.
That should be the only strategy available to India right now, and it will be a good one too unless they go ultra-defensive. Now in this test, if India are allowed a look in with nearly 50-70 overs left today, they will still have a possible 320-340 overs left for the last three innings. Australia, one fears, will not be required to face more than 50 in their second essay unless India put up a great total. That would mean negotiating 125 to 150 overs in each innings for India.
That should be a tough job, but it is not impossible by any standards as the wicket is playing very true. Shastri believes that it is easy. In fact, the avearge second innings score at Sydney is close to 400, and that should give heart to India.
But once again, India will need to score too and not just preserve their wickets. Australians did that beautifully under pressure by trading in singles and twos when boundaries were not coming. India may not be allowed too many boundaries if Ponting's approach, alternating between defense and offense, is any indication.
Meanwhile, I am awaiting morning papers to read what they have to say about the umpiring goof-ups, which allowed Australia to escape from the gallows. Did not Navjot Sidhu say in NDTV that if Sachin is allowed three innings in one innings, he (Sidhu) would bet on him scoring a century every time!
Australia have lost their eighth wicket just now. Hopefully, there will not be any big partnership anymore in this innings..
That is understandable when you are chasing a total in excess of 400 runs because the first thought will be about saving the test.
Also, as going 0-2 down will curtail your ambition drastically to the thought of just saving the series.
That should be the only strategy available to India right now, and it will be a good one too unless they go ultra-defensive. Now in this test, if India are allowed a look in with nearly 50-70 overs left today, they will still have a possible 320-340 overs left for the last three innings. Australia, one fears, will not be required to face more than 50 in their second essay unless India put up a great total. That would mean negotiating 125 to 150 overs in each innings for India.
That should be a tough job, but it is not impossible by any standards as the wicket is playing very true. Shastri believes that it is easy. In fact, the avearge second innings score at Sydney is close to 400, and that should give heart to India.
But once again, India will need to score too and not just preserve their wickets. Australians did that beautifully under pressure by trading in singles and twos when boundaries were not coming. India may not be allowed too many boundaries if Ponting's approach, alternating between defense and offense, is any indication.
Meanwhile, I am awaiting morning papers to read what they have to say about the umpiring goof-ups, which allowed Australia to escape from the gallows. Did not Navjot Sidhu say in NDTV that if Sachin is allowed three innings in one innings, he (Sidhu) would bet on him scoring a century every time!
Australia have lost their eighth wicket just now. Hopefully, there will not be any big partnership anymore in this innings..
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
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