This time it's Kotlagate

The inability to produce a one-day wicket suitable to international standards should be a story of the past. But the Feroz Shah Kotla (FSK) groundsmen seem hellbent on proving me wrong in this past week. Will India still be chief host of the upcoming World Cup?

The ICC is breathing down the necks of the BCCI, amidst the fallout of 'Kotlagate', and the question is being asked whether India's pitches are fit to host the World Cup. Pakistan has already been removed as co-host; something about terrorist activity. And if India's incompetency strikes them out too, I expect South Africa would love to raise their hand for this one too.

India needs this. Bad. Real bad. Delhi is already rubbing its face in the mud with Commonwealth Games preparation, so another failure would demoralise even the most loyal Indian fans.

The egos must slide and the preservation of cricket's dignity in India must come to the fore. The bottomless pit of cash which is the BCCI should be spent handsomely in getting the curators from Australia to sort out this schoolboy error which has become FSK. Australian pitches have standed the test of time in a climate similar to that faced by curators in India, so why not take the pearls of wisdom that their curators could pass on?

Then again we are talking about the BCCI. A machine solely involved in self-preservation and showing its power in cricketing circles by shoving wads of cash down their counterpart's mouths. Hardly the father figure who will lead by example.

But knowing how important cricket is in the country where gods have names like Tendulkar and Dhoni, let's hope the issue is dealt with propoerly, so we can move on and enjoy the spectacle of the World Cup in India.






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Wat if...?

Did anyone else watch the re-enactment of the Wato-Kats run-out fiasco on the second morning of the Boxing Day test? Wat if Kats should have been the one to put bat-under-arm and done the walk of shame back to the pavilion?

During Warney's and Slat's review of the first day runout between the Australian opening pair, they played a split-screen clip: one down the wicket, and the other square-on to the crease. Everyone is in agreement that Katich grounded his foot first. But what the clip showed but neither the third umpire, Asoka De Silva, nor the commentators noticed, was Katich leaving his crease shortly after realising Wato was crying foul next door. Fortunately - for Kats - the bails had been dislodged just before his Sunday stroll. But WAT if he had walked out just prior to the bails being blown at the other end? Then Wato would've been given out incorrectly, due to umpire ignorance; and still, would anyone know?

Shame it didn't play out that way, but wat if...



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Team India Are Finally No. 1 In Test Cricket

World rankings, like averages and strike rates, can be very deceptive mathematical creations. Some people believe in them, many don't. On which side of the fence you sit depends almost entirely on how high or low your favourite team or player is placed - Ricky Ponting's goal in life went from "staying number 1" to "playing good, consistent cricket" as his Aussies descended the ladder of greatness and ICC rankings. However, we must live in the present and it is an official and indisputable fact that MS Dhoni's Team India are currently the best Test team in world cricket.

This was a journey whose seeds were sown as a footnote to the infamous match fixing saga and the Aussies' marauding of Sachin Tendulkar's Team India in 1999/2000. Indian cricket awoke from its decades-long slumber and became serious about winning cricket matches, at home and away. John Wright was installed as the team's first foreign coach, and with Sourav Ganguly as the powerful, ever-confident and aggressive captain, he formed one of the most formidable partnerships ever seen in world cricket.

Series wins at home continued with these two at the helm, but the real highlights were the regular away Test match wins that were added to the register. Unfortunately, the postscript to this era was the Chappell years. Team India appeared to fall back to the deep, dark abyss of the pre-Ganguly years. For a time it even appeared that Rahul Dravid, sometime captain, would be lost to the cause due to the politicking, pettiness and ineptitude of the powerful few.

Fast forward to England 2007, Team India conquered the colonialists after many nearly efforts against the Aussies, English and the South Africans. This was Team India's 'giant leap' and the foundation on which first Anil Kumble, and then MS Dhoni built this castle.

Details of victory after glorious victory are now folklore. In hindsight, it is irrefutable that MS Dhoni's ascension to the throne has been the most significant factor in Team India's sustained run of successes thus. His calm demeanour and unifying force are oft lauded. However, his talents with both gloves and bat in the 5-day format are seldom given their due. There is no better 'keeper-batsman package in world cricket today.

This feat could not have been achieved more emphatically. Two thumping innings victories against not-so-feeble opposition only serves to underline Team India's dominance over the previous 18-20 months.

The cliche goes that it's easy to get to the top, a helluva lot harder to stay there. It does not need me to preach this to Dhoni or the team - this is why Gary Kirsten exists. Indian cricket has traditionally been a poor front runner. The Indian media will play its part to ensure that the team is given every opportunity to lose focus. The BCCI has already played its hand with abysmal scheduling.

Despite all such external obstacles, the length of time Indian cricket stays at the top will depend entirely upon whether its individual members can win the battle in their minds, for the team has all the components to be a formidable unit for many years yet.

Having said this, now is not the time for answers. The road has been long and occasionally painful. Many corks need popping and bottle tops need opening. This is one party every Indian cricket fan needs to enjoy.


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10 Questions About Indian Cricket I Need Answered (On-Field)

With the general environs as imperfect and contradictory as they are, I've found it nigh on impossible to constrict this list of on-field questions to 10. Tell me what you think (in no particular order):

1. Why do all Indian "speedsters" capable of bowling north of 140 km/h suddenly feel the need to become military medium trundlers who struggle to reach 125 km/h? Of the current crop, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth are prime examples.

2. Why does Harbhajan Singh deem it of utmost importance to bowl flat on middle and leg when he is well aware the result will be easy runs, irrespective of the batsmen's incompetence against spin? Moreover, is he so vital to Team India that he can't be sent back to Ranji cricket to rediscover his mojo?

3. Why do Indian fielders, irrespective of their fielding prowess (or more commonly, lack their of) lob the ball back to the keeper? Surely, a throw of intent fired in over middle stump, even in a non-run out situation, will plant seeds of doubt in the batsmen's minds the next time they consider a risky run?

4. Why does Team India need to put in an atrocious fielding effort before it can pull its finger out and set the field on the fire in the next game? The marked improvement in performance over the course of a few days signals a lack of intent and poor attitude in the previous game, which effectively implies effort levels deep south of 100%. When did players begin picking and choosing the matches in which they could be bothered putting in? What is the difference between this attitude and a vague form of match fixing?

5. As a continuation of the fielding theme, why don't Indian wicketkeepers run up to the stumps more often than not after every ball? Why do they take the ball with one hand while the other lays limp by their sides? Why do they not demand that fielders throw the ball to them within a 30cm diameter of the stumps?

6. Why does the team management continue to select players who are clearly unfit or have shown zero net improvement in their game, eg. Munaf Patel? For all his great work and success it is a blight on MS Dhoni's captaincy to see and hear him back players of Munaf's ilk who appear to have no desire to improve their attitudes and / or take their games to the next level.

7. Why does VVS Laxman always give the opposition at least 5 opportunities, in the first 15 balls he faces, to send him back by hanging his bat 3 miles from his body? Such peace offerings to the 'keeper and slips cordon have, in my estimation, resulted in a career average approximately 5 runs per innings lower than what it could have been for Team India's very own Picasso.

8. When will Yuvraj Singh be told to lose his spare tyre or lose his place in the team? Yuvraj's fielding standards have been receding faster than Virender Sehwag's hairline and Yuvraj's recession can be squarely attributed to the rise in his love handles. Surely this is reason enough to read him the riot act.

9. When in and set during overs 15 to 35 in ODI's, why does MS Dhoni, and recently the remainder of the batting line up, feel it unimportant to send the ball to and beyond the ropes? Logic dictates that an increased tempo during the middle overs will lead to higher totals, no?

10. Why can't Virender Sehwag bat in ODI's like he does in Test matches? Even if Sehwag scores 5 in the first 5 overs of an ODI, but manages to get his eye in and timing going, a more prolonged period of mayhem is likely to follow than when he tries to start butchering from the very first ball he faces.


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Australia v West Indies: A Marketer's Nightmare

Simply put, there is nothing about the upcoming Australia v West Indies series that would excite the reasonable woman or the average cricket fan. A West Indian cricket system and team in utter disarray and an Aussie team with no real crowd puller is no less than the complete material with which a marketing man's nightmares are formed. Why should we care?

The Windies are already off to a poor start, with their bowlers getting hammered by a second string Queensland outfit in the opening tour match. Chris Gayle has had no preparation due to being at his ill mother's bedside - mind you, while I hope his Mom regains full health at the earliest, this might be the best preparation for a man who wouldn't honestly profess to loving every moment of practice.

Cricket Australia's spin doctors are already trying to talk up stand-in captain Dinesh Ramdin's credentials. But if the best evidence of Ramdin's leadership "maturity and nous" is that he'll study the Aussies' Ashes defeat, then even the blonde among us can tell that the Windies are struggling. This is not to say that Ramdin won't make a good leader if given the opportunity, as Aaron previously argued, but a spade needs to be referred to by its proper name for the present.

I sadly, but honestly, say that the best we can hope for from the West Indies is one cracking century from Gayle and a number of poor failures. A consistent and classy 40-odd average from throughout series from Shivnarine Chanderpaul. A half century or two from Ramnaresh Sarwan; effectively, much promise but no cigar. Dwayne Bravo will likely chip in with flashy and acrobatic fielding and a couple of quick fire 40's. This ladies and gentlemen, is the likely sum of the visitor's efforts this Australian summer - hardly the class of inducement that would tempt me to reach for my wallet to pay for an overpriced ticket.

For the Aussies, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke will fill their boots and fortify their averages on typical Aussie roads, which have characterised recent Australian summers. Fringe Aussie bowlers waiting for one of the incumbents to get dropped will have to pray for an injury instead, because the likes of Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus will make merry against a likely, insipid Windies batting lineup. The most significant point of interest in the Aussie camp will be to observe whether the openers who start the series will be the same as those who finish it.

You probably get the impression that I can't find a single reason to stay glued to the box this summer, much less to bear 40+ degree heat and sit in a stadium. You're not far off the mark.

However, the one century that Chris Gayle wallops will be a sight to behold, and if he manages to double that tally then we're talking about the stuff of which a pubescent male's wet dreams are made. If Sarwan can treat us to a prolonged spell of his magic by doubling up on the half century then I can assure you there are likely to be few better spectacles in modern day cricket. If these two can combine with Chanderpaul in the same Test, we may just have an upset on the cards. It's the stuff dreams are made of.

Until such dreams come true, yesterday's All*Star game might just have been the highlight of the summer. Strap yourselves in for a rather innocuous Aussie summer of cricket and tune in to The Match Referee's YouTube channel.


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