The work behind the Australian revival

It’s payback time!! The preparation and execution of the Aussies against the English bowlers have come together smooth as a jelly that the 2-0 lead and the margin of victories after two matches have taken everyone by surprise. That for a team that has lost six of their last eight test matches prior to The Ashes. 

The series is a long one, there are the three more matches that would determine the winner and who gets to keep the Ashes. But the Australians have taken a giant stride and it would require more than just the days on the field to prevent the stride from marching further. The body language of the English are all ground-facing at the moment, Andy Flower and Alistair Cook have had work to do in the days leading up to the remainder of the series.

The Australian performance on the other hand has been sublime. While Mitchell Johnson has been the rattler-in-chief so far, the trio of selectors, coach and captain which had been taking flak for some listless performances in the past and off-the-field incidents have come together to deliver a fantastic punch upfront setting up a seemingly insurmountable challenge to the visitors.

On the squad front, a couple of batsmen in Phil Hughes and Ed Cowan occupying the top order needed to be given a break from the team and Nathan Lyon’s performance in the recent past, begged for some backing. The selectors delivered them. Not to mention, the decision to bring back an inspired Mitchell Johnson earlier in the year and not hurrying it before he looked ready to take the role of the lead bowler again.

The move towards Darren Lehmann as the head coach seems to have worked wonders in the minds of the players. Players have talked openly about the healthy change in the mood of the dressing room and the coach’s attitude has among others, resulted in the revival of aggression that is so easily identified with the Aussies. That they have over-stepped it on a couple of occasions is a topic that warrants a separate discussion.

On the field, there was a plan evident for every English batsman though the common nemesis has worked in the form of an accurate short pitched ball aimed between the ribs and the throat. While the batsmen got themselves into good positions at times to play the pull shot, they played straight into the hands of Michael Clarke and the bowlers who had their men prowling between Square and Fine Leg to grab the catches.

The Australian skipper’s innovative field placements have been spot on ranging from the dual short mid-wicket for Kevin Pietersen to the combination of short cover and short extra-cover for Ian Bell which forced a mishit of a full toss from Steven Smith’s leg-spin in the 2^nd innings of the second test.

The Englishmen currently have the Australian team walking all over them. Alistair cook’s face said it all about the morale of the team when he came out to congratulate the Australian team at the end of the second test. The collected eyebrows in the centre indicated some serious work and strength of character required ahead to avoid an annihilation. The hill just seems a bit too high at the moment.

                                                                                                                                 

Leander - a supreme athlete!

The physical appearance betrays the fitness and sharp thinking that accompanies him on to the court. Leander Paes, the oldest man to win a Grand Slam, a feat he accomplished last week when he won the Men's Doubles US Open Title, is still a wild cat on the hunt on court, the speed of the hands and the suppleness of the torso working in tandem and placing the tennis ball exactly as the mind had demanded.

For those who had seen the young boy in his teens who went on to win the Junior Wimbledon and US Open titles at the age of 17, there might be little to differentiate in the on-court aggression and swiftness of the racket that he has managed to carry on to this day.

Pairing up with Radek Stepanek, the win in the US Open Finals was taken as a forgone conclusion once the duo had beaten the current best in business, the Bryan brothers of Bob and Mike in the semis much to the disappointment of the partisan crowd gathered at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Indeed, the Finals proved to be so, with the eventual winners pocketing 8 of the first 9 games and breaking the opponents right in the beginning of the second set after taking the first set 6-1. Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares were struggling to make themselves counted much before Peya’s back started giving him trouble in the middle of the second set and they lost in straight sets to the Indo-Czech pair.

Lot of what we see of Paes – his speed, reflexes, net game and drop shots complement his partner’s game who finds comfort playing from the baseline and looks untroubled with long rallies. 

What made Leander to stick with Stepanek when the latter had had a spinal surgery earlier in the year -  was it Lee’s practical reading of his phase in his career, understanding the time and energy involved in working out the chemistry with another partner right from scratch; or a genuine friend cum partner who believed as much as Stepanek did that he would soon be fit enough to play and compete at the highest level; or a mix of both, we would not know.

But what we do know in retrospect is that Leander made the right choice and the two seem to have forged a partnership based on trust and friendship, patience and backing.  Their on-court antics during the US Open, an involuntary invention as they seemed to indicate was as much fun to them as was flavour to the game, in this less popular cousin of the singles competition.

Paes has been on the tennis circuit for more than two decades and seems impregnable to the degeneration that accompanies age. Whether he would be playing Olympics in Rio or not is not a decision that would ride on Leander alone, there would be a lot of younger players and veterans fighting to capture the attention of the AITA (All India Tennis Association) but the old warhorse refuses to surrender.  

The Olympics are still a few years away and the legs might not be as strong as they were a few years back but with a mind and game as strong as his, a ticket to Brazil in 2016 might just be beckoning for this ageless wonder. The Indian fans would be watching keenly. 

Saina seated comfortably on the throne

Happy smiles could be seen all around after the conclusion of Season 1 of the Indian Badminton League. After a long merry-go-round of ‘will happen - might not happen – likely to happen later’, the league finally took off and the quality of the games lived up to its billing. Sold-out stadiums and presence of celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sanjay Manjrekar among the audience only added to its value and spectator interest in this 19-day spectacle.

While the presence of top ranked International players in singles and doubles provided the meat that this inaugural season needed for a successful kick-off, the clash of the tournament was seen to be the match between the top two Women’s players of the host country – Saina Nehwal from Hyderabad Hotshots and P.V Sindhu from Awadhe Warriors. The tournament organisers had planned for the inaugural day to carry this contest but the players and their teams helped to set the climax too with a similar duel.

After the two matches that were played against each other, the senior pro settled much debate on who is hotter on court at the moment. If Sindhu entertained glimpses of hope after the battle started, it ended in the first few minutes of the first game of the first match. Saina seemed to be measuring up her opponent initially while Sindhu attacked the net and delivered smashes beyond the more experienced player’s reach.

Pitched next to Sindhu and some of the South Asian players, Saina could come across a few pounds heavier for her frame but she would not allow it to come in the way of her nimble-footedness, powerful smashes, reach and coverage of the court. 

It did not take long for her to get into the groove and soon she was all over the court and Sindhu. Her body smashes on her opponent seemed well rehearsed in the mind especially in the Finals.  

Much to a badminton fan’s delight, the backline was used as much as the net and the centre of the court by both players to not allow the match to slip into a one-dimensional contest as some of the other matches were.

While Sindhu showed her class and her Icon status in the league by beating the recently retired and two-time All-England Champion, Tine Baun twice and the No. 3 ranked Juliane Schenk, it was against Saina Nehwal and in front of the split crowd support that she found it difficult to regroup herself quickly.  Crowd support can work either ways – provide energy or pile on pressure. Sindhu probably let the pressure overwhelm her as could be seen in her body language.

She has much catch up to do to further her BWF rankings but this teenager has a lot of positives to take back from the first Indian Badminton league.

Saina Nehwal could heave a sigh of relief in the meantime, her claim to the throne in Indian Badminton does not seem to be under any immediate threat. 

DDCA Sports Working Committee kicks off on a positive note

The day had a dark start to it, with heavy rains lashing the city into potholed and flooded roads. But the scene inside the DDCA (Delhi and District Cricket Association) premises was far from dark. The newly elected Sports Working Committee (SWC) of the DDCA decided to do a first in calling upon players (current and former), umpires, coaches and a first among first in inviting some of the Women cricketers to a Planning workshop on the 18th of August. And come they did in large numbers as the room was buzzing with excitement through a large part of the day.  

While Arun Jaitley, the president of DDCA started the proceedings with a pinch of salt in hoping to see the level of enthusiasm maintained as the months go by, the air of optimism hovering around could not be missed, increasing in intensity as the Open house and sum-up sessions by the Committee members came about.

A couple of key members of World Cup winning teams, one from 1983 and the other from the more recent 2011 World Cup were invited to make their points as well. Both Madan Lal and Virender Sehwag, known to speak their minds and not moderate their words dictated by the forum did exactly that.

It was a run of emotions that was on display from Madan Lal to the DDCA members, an appeal to give up their egos, put their heads together and work towards a common goal with the rest of the stakeholders. Encouraging people to sit across the table and sort out issues where necessary, he requested that procrastination be abandoned and actions be adopted on-ground at the earliest.

Virender Sehwag’s presence and words were brief but not without their impact. He began his innings with a surprising stance, defending the media that reports invariably reflected reality. He appealed to the players to concentrate on the field while off-the-field transactions get handled by the administrators.  The administrators on their part were requested to provide a clean environment that would not allow unnecessary distractions to bother the players.

The open house session saw many a suggestion being forwarded – from transparent selections to using International quality balls for league matches to introducing a league format for Women players to increasing their fee to make cricket worthwhile financially. The scene of a girl requesting for fees to be enhanced to cover their conveyance expenses at the least was heart-wrenching and spoke of the misery that girls still go through to take up Cricket as a career option.

Gautam Vadehra, a member of the new SWC decided to do a momentary change of hat and appealed that T20 as a format not be encouraged with younger teams if quality and technique were to be preserved.  A refreshing posture from someone entrusted with safeguarding the interests of the game!

The sum-up sessions by Chetan Chauhan (Vice-President, Executive Committee), SP Bansal (Hon. Gen. Secretary, Executive Committee) and Ramesh Sachdeva (Vice-President, SWC) all touched upon selection matters, women’s cricket and opening Cricket academies with indoor facilities among others that could see progress in what appeared to be sincere pledges of intent. Medical support to current players which has been in place for a while and Insurance and Pension schemes for former players which would follow soon were some of the efforts worth a mention. The day ended on a high of promise, the initiative of such an open session in itself carrying more than a ray of hope. The proof of the pudding will of course be served in the coming months.

Victory of the mind at Old Trafford

Australia will go into 4^th Test of the Investec Ashes with a lot more confidence than they have been able to in the recent past.

The 3^rd Test at Old Trafford saw a reversal of fortunes with Australia dominating England for most part of the match. In the end, it was another English factor - the weather that ensured a save for the home team when Australia were starting to clean things up at a quick pace on Day 5.

Having faced criticisms and salvos all around them and with the looming danger of a whitewash to be made bigger with a third consecutive defeat in the series, the performance at Old Trafford was partly reminiscent of the Australian toughness and gave the fans something to cheer about.

Winning the toss for the first time in the series, Australia decided to bat and went on to put up a mighty score of 527 for 7 wickets declared. They had not crossed 300 runs in an innings prior to this in the series. The score was helped on its way by some near misses – a near double century missed by Michael Clarke and centuries sniffed by opener Chris Rogers and middle order bat, Steve Smith.

The declaration was a clear signal that Clarke was looking for a result in this one with the backing of the runs and was not going to be content with a draw.

England had plenty to be bothered about in their chase. But for a century from Kevin Pietersen, a century stand that he shared with Ian Bell and some quick runs on the morning of Day 4 by Stuart Broad, England could have fallen well short of the target to avoid follow-on. There was a phase when this plausibility exerted itself quite heavily. 

After England folded up and post some mild drama on Day 4 and with a full day’s game to go, the English were thrown a score of 332 to chase down. The Australian quickies in Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle bowled with a lot gumption and were on target once again. The scent of a victory was starting to set in at 3-27 when during lunch 4 overs later, the English weather contrived to stand in the way.

Australia could not come up with plans to tackle the weather’s challenges and had to be content with a draw. Michael Clarke and Deputy Brad Haddin might have sounded disappointed after the game but deep inside, they knew that they had fought for and won a mental victory half way through the series. The structure of the series would mean that England get to keep the Ashes even if Australia go on to win the remaining 2 Tests and draw the series but it was fairly unrealistic with the current constitution and form of the Australian and English teams that the Ashes would travel eastwards. Steve Waugh, one of the best skippers that Australian and World cricket have seen, was more forthright in his assessment about not being saddened at not winning the ashes.

Australia had made some right moves in the team combination ahead of this test and might further tweak the batting order as hinted by the skipper. A win would have done wonders for the confidence of Michael Clarke’s team but he and Darren Lehmann would be mighty proud of the fight back, the manner in which their down-slide was arrested, the resolve that both the batting and bowling departments displayed as a team more than just some spirited individuals and the momentum they get to carry forward to the next game. A more than interesting contest could be on the cards in the next couple of weeks! 

An Australian Whitewash is not a given

It did not require for a plotting of ‘leg-theory’ bowling to bring down the Aussies this time. Australia were not expected to give much of a fight to this quality England side and the current status 0-2 in the Investec Ashes series would lend itself to the predictions made prior to the start of the series.

Australian batting has been a let-down with the top order in particular failing to support with any kind of a platform, leaving some of the past greats and members of the then Invincibles mortified at the manner of caving in, particularly in the second Test at the Lord’s.

The tour kicked off with a bit of an unexpected move, though mostly seen as a surprise than a shock for most Australian players. While the timing of the replacement of Coach Mickey Arthur by the home-grown Darren Lehmann is worth a debate, coming as it did a couple of weeks before the start of the Ashes series, the decision seemed to be welcome in most quarters. For all its suddenness, the sacking did not really reek of a vendetta or pose a scapegoat for the dismal performances. It was seen purely as a move towards what would contribute better to Australian cricket.

Much was hoped for from the new coach Lehmann and players had no qualms to admitting publicly that some quick fixes indeed were expected. Fixes or not, he started off on a positive note when the Australians grabbed some important sessions of the First Test at Trent Bridge and were a whisker away from snatching a victory.

Things changed quickly for the worse however in the following match at The Lord’s. The performance in the second Test is something that the Australian team would want to quickly move on from, the first innings total of just 128 runs lasting for less than four hours ultimately contributing to the colossal defeat margin of 347 runs.

If they do manage to get their minds off the batting collapse at Lord’s, the team are not short of positives to take with them to avoid a third consecutive defeat in the series. The bowling has been in good rhythm with the only area of bother being the slow bowling department. Nathan Lyon has been the best spin bowler for Australia for some time and has been wielded the wrong end of the stick unfortunately after his performance in India, an acid test for any spinner. It would be ideal for him to be back in the playing eleven. 

Most batsmen have managed to get off to good starts in the series and not been woefully out of form as the innings totals might suggest. Only Steve Smith and Brad Haddin have not managed anything of note beyond a half-century each. With a much-needed break from International cricket after the second test, the batsmen would in all probability have been trying to work on getting back to the basics of Test cricket.

However, an important series and an unenviable situation like this would mean that the seniors in Michael Clarke and Shane Watson would be expected to take the lead and navigate the team away from trouble. The skipper would only know too well that his batting (along with Michael Hussey’s) has been instrumental in Australia’s win and drawn games in the last couple of years, ever since the batting mammoths of the previous era started withering away to retirements. Take a look at this statistic – Clarke’s Average in the 20 matches prior to the tour of India was a staggering 72.48 and Australia’s win percentage during the corresponding period had been a healthy 60%. In the last two tours where Clarke has struggled to find his rhythm going, his average has fallen to 38.80 and Australia have not managed to win a single of their last six games (Clarke missed out on one game in India due to back injury though). Watson has no such tall numbers to boast about. He would need to buckle down and play some good test innings to not find himself out of contention especially with his bowling too not contributing much of late.

The coach and captain would be aware that dwelling on the negatives would not be of much help. The comparisons with the past greats and building of the team for the future that is going around in the media should not be allowed to burden the inexperienced and younger lot in the team. The players’ task lies at the present, only as far as the next match and the next session for now.

This team might not be a team of world-beaters, far from it as a matter of fact. They are indeed going through the trough of a cycle bound to hit all teams. But they would believe, they have the quality to avert a whitewash. There have been quite a few sessions in the series to take cheer from. Cricket fans would be ardently hoping for more such sessions and a few more of Trent Bridge than a Lord’s.

Conceit and myopia in selection have hurt Australia

‘They look like a club side’, lamented a disappointed friend of mine. The way the team went about chasing a par score of 270 against England in the Champion’s Trophy earlier this month betrayed the famous Aussie fighting spirit. The result was a foregone conclusion soon after the chase started, there was no semblance of anyone putting his hands up to take the fight to the opposition. That has been the story of Australia in this Champion’s Trophy and at times in these past few years.

Having dominated World Cricket since early 90s to the mid-2000s, it is distressing to see the deterioration in the team who were once the trend-setters for the rest of the world. Their rigorous systems, planning and strategy and careful selections moulded many a great and quite a few effective players in the last two decades. But they have failed to connect that with an eye on pragmatism in the recent past.

India and Australia have in some senses faced a similar phase in these last few years - the greats of the game from both teams were expected to leave the team one after another. If Australia saw the last of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Mathew Hayden and Ricky Ponting on the International Cricket field, India have lost Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar (so far in the shorter format).

The selectors in India have often been accused of being lackadaisical and not pre-empting a plan for the phase-out, but the restraint they exercised and the wisdom they saw in having a potent combination of experience and youth, seems to have worked well for the team. While the ability of the Test team especially when playing abroad is yet to be tested, the limited overs team seems pretty settled at the moment.

As for Australia, the selectors have been far too inconsistent with too much of chopping and changing. They have tended to act with what could only be called conceit and myopia - the manner in which the likes of Michael Bevan, Brad Hodge, Simon Katich, Nathen Bracken, Brad Haddin, Nathan Lyon and Shaun Marsh have been handled in the last few years goes to explain this. The first four had their career cruelly cut short despite having the quality, age, fitness and skills to command a place in the team for a few years more. Most of these players could have gone a long way in ensuring a smoother change of guard. Different selectors have served on the job for Australia in the last decade – Trevor Hohns, Andrew Hilditch and John Inverarity but they’ve all been guilty of the same mistake, severing the life of a player much before the use-by-date and ringing in inconsistent changes without quite gauging how it could hurt the team’s fortunes in the medium to long run.

If the selectors were indeed convinced with their moves where the ‘form-age’ combination has often been cited as the reason for the changes, it was not paralleled with a planned investment in youth especially in the batting department.

Recently, Mike Hussey’s public admission that he was forced to act selfish and keep his retirement plans under wraps to protect his place in the last few games, speaks of the lack of trust bred by Cricket Australia and their team of selectors. It’s only a matter of hypothesis now, the kind of impact a senior pro like Hussey would have had on the dressing room had his superior fitness levels and skills been used for a year or two more.

To let bygones be bygones, Australia could do well with some strong leadership and trust, to focus on building the team together. Michael Clarke along with Micky Arthur could work on mending fences with seniors in the team including Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson. High-handedness and a lack of consistency in dealing with disciplinary issues as we have seen, have had an adverse impact on the environment of the dressing room.

As Australia look to rebuild from one of their worst slumps seen in recent years, the cricket-lovers and players would be hoping that the selectors bring in changes carefully and back their picks. A touch of humility should do them no harm.

My first week with Club Cricket

Having followed Cricket passionately for over three decades, I was experiencing the game at Club level for the first time. Last week’s experience at the 38^th Lala Raghubir Hot Weather Tournament was refreshing. And there was something else which was new too. I was there not as a fan, but in the capacity of a hopeful ‘to-be’ umpire.

In the last week of this Tournament conducted in New Delhi, my initial reaction was one of awe of the infrastructure that this hugely popular Modern School was providing to the students and to the rest of the local sporting community by way of organizing such events. At a school level, providing such facilities in the developmental years of both skills and interests, this was almost all of what a kid and the parents could ask for. Good quality coaches, am told, is not unfamiliar here either as added on by some biased parties.

Feeling my way around in the school for the first time, I came across two full Cricket grounds, a Football field and two Basketball courts before I find my way to the correct venue where Hargopal Cricket Club, Modern School’s own club was taking on RP Academy in the last leg of the league games.

I was an observer and spectator at another league game, one of the semis and the Finals as well. What struck me most was the quality of cricket and the pedigree of cricketers who took part. It was a mix of cricketers trying to find their way back and others trying to break into the International and State teams for the first time. One saw the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Unmukt Chand, Praveen Kumar, Tanmay Srivastava along with a handful other Ranji players and hopefuls taking part in this tournament where only the ground fielding and catching left much to be desired.

The tournament could easily pass off as a mad adventurous activity to be played in the hottest time of the year, the temperature hovering around mid-40s on most days. The only redeeming factor of the 40 over-an innings games was the early morning start of 7.30.  The experienced Cricket writer Vijay Lokapally tells me what an avid fan of Club cricket he is and how the tournament is not said to have had any incident of Heat Stroke in all these years. Well, quite a statistic that, if it indeed is true, and I go by the gentleman’s word.

The tournament has assumed enough significance and glamour over the years for the Finals to be telecast live on National Television, DD Sports. I am told spectators used to throng the Finals in thousands in the previous years but thanks to betting issues faced in the past, the gate was shut for the public this time. True to its stature, the Finals was an enthralling affair going right through to the last over, oscillating between both teams till 3 balls before the scheduled close of the match.

If the tournament and the participating players were of repute, the officials managing the show were not going to be of a lower pedigree. Led by Anil Chaudhary, one of the top BCCI umpires with the experience of standing in a number of IPL games this season, the umpires and scorers were all either BCCI accredited or State empaneled.

The tournament would do well of course, to have a better quality outfield, the lack of a level outfield with tall grass looking up in patches does not augur well for its reputation.

Moving back to the reason why I was pulled to these matches in the first place, I ended the week’s tryst with club cricket with a great deal more of respect and a touch of admiration added on for the Umpiring department. The job involves much more than what a normal spectator picks up - signalling wides, no-balls and judging leg before appeals. If anything, the continued concentration required all through the match irrespective of the end where the umpire is positioned, can be exhausting physically and mentally and makes the job quite demanding.

I completed this leg of my new journey, more enlightened in areas and levels of the game I knew little about. I was convinced, this first stage of acquaintance would be stimulating like none other.

Job simplified for the Selection panel?

The selectors had done the first step of simplifying their own job by excluding some senior players who have not been in the best of form in the recent past from the Probables List for the Champions Trophy. The Champions Trophy is slated to be held in England next month and the 30-member list of probables was announced earlier in April which would further be pruned to 15 come tomorrow. While statements given on a number of occasions across different selection panels have tried to explain that IPL will not be the basis for selection into the national team, it could well be the last lap of a race for a couple of spots as far as ODIs are concerned.

When the 30-member list was announced last month, it did not raise too many eyebrows when Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh were left out.  With a number of talented youngsters knocking at their doors with creditable performances backed by electric fielding abilities, the selectors did the right thing of honouring meritocracy and not providing longer ropes to players who were nearing the end of their borrowed time.

The selection meeting to be held tomorrow might not be a long one with most players picking themselves but for a couple of places.

In the batting line-up, Shikhar’s Dhawan fitness was a concern when he injured his finger while playing the test series against Australia. But his roaring return with 2 strong and unbeaten fifties in 3 matches, he has propelled himself right into one of the openers’ playing slots, and not just an entry into the squad. Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir should see themselves on the flight to England but would probably need to slug it out for the other opening spot, with both having decent runs in the IPL.

The middle order is pretty much settled for the Indian team with Kohli, Raina and Dhoni forming the crux. The No. 6 in the batting line-up (assuming captain MS Dhoni will push himself up the order, the way he has done with the CSK batting line-up) could well be taken over by Rohit Sharma. For a talent that is indisputable and profuse, an average of less than 31 after playing 83 innings at the International level does little justice to the bid to cement his place in the Indian middle order. His average of under 13 in thirteen innings in 2012 does not help the cause either. But with his blazing form in the IPL, he has all but dismissed a denial of another chance. Having scored 375 runs from 10 innings at an average of 53.6 and with a strike rate of 150 in the ongoing IPL season, hope is for him to carry on the form into next month’s inter-country affair too.

His Mumbai Indian team-mate Dinesh Karthik who’s been in brilliant form with the bat has a strong case to be picked in the team as well. Dinesh Karthik, apart from offering a batting option, could also serve as the reserve wicket-keeper, an important slot in the squad while playing overseas.

In the bowling arena, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar should continue from the previous ODI series played against England. Vinay Kumar makes for a strong bid with his IPL performances. Leaving aside 3 spots combined for spinners and all-rounders, the only other spot for a pacer could be a head-on between Praveen Kumar and Umesh Yadav. While what works to Umesh’s advantage is his speed, a variation from the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Vinay Kumar, his significance in the tour to South Africa later in the year along with this injury-prone frame and bowling action could mean that selectors exercise some caution and omit him from the shorter format for the time-being. Wouldn’t that amount to having a pace pool after all? If Praveen Kumar is indeed picked ahead of Umesh Yadav, it could well mean a definite spot for Ishant Sharma in the playing eleven as he would be the only one from the fast-bowling department capable of generating some pace and bounce in the wet English conditions.

An ODI tournament in England would mean no more than 2 places for slow bowlers. I suspect Ashwin to get the nod ahead of Amit Mishra for the genuine spinner’s role with his ability to bowl subtle variations pushed ahead by performances in the recent test series against Australia which won him the Player of the series award. Jadeja, for his genuine all-rounder capabilities and his recent bowling performances (again a key performer against Australia), would be a certainty in the squad. It is well-known that for the flexibility he lends to the team, he has the backing of the captain as well.

Purely by virtue of being a fast-bowling all-rounder, Irfan Pathan could well be picked for the other all-rounder’s role in the team and complete the 15 member squad.

The selection meeting could well be a short one if however, Cheteswar Pujara fails to make himself available. There were rumours about his fitness when he was not picked in the original squad of 30 with both his knee and a fractured finger giving him trouble. There was another theory doing the rounds that the selectors would prefer him to tour South Africa with the India A team (to familiarise himself with the conditions), which could potentially clash with some parts of the Champions Trophy. Between the two the lines of speculation, fitness could well be a factor since he has not played a single game for the Royal Challengers Bangalore this season and there is no news on that front either.

On selection matters, there is a school of thought that Pujara would not be so well suited for the shorter format due to his non-aggressive style of play. But one would only need to turn back to India’s performance on their last full tour to England in 2011 to understand the importance of a player who can anchor the innings even for a 50-over a side match. And as if to pre-empt and take wind out of that argument against him, Pujara scored a series aggregate of 419 runs at a more than healthy strike rate of 62.4 in the test series against Australia earlier this year.

Since the ICC rules do not prohibit the countries from picking a player in the final squad from outside the provisional list, Pujara could well be under consideration for a place. If he manages to clear fitness concerns, Pujara should ideally be given a go-ahead in place of one of the contenders to lend some balance to the side.

Probable Squad: MS Dhoni (Captain and wicket-keeper), Virat Kohli (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar and Cheteshwar Pujara (subject on fitness) or Gautam Gambhir. 

Mild rain gives way to a Storm in Bangalore

If it was a watchful, sensible innings in the previous match against the Rajasthan Royals meant to just see the target off, the blizzard that hit the usually mild-weathered Bangalore, finished off the opposition.

Boy oh boy! What Chris Gayle unleashed on the 23^rd evening at the Chinnaswamy stadium was annihilation at its best. It crossed the lines of insanity. The match was over before it began.

Gayle who has followed a pattern in the past of picking up momentum after a few quiet overs in the beginning, decided he would not do the predictable on Tuesday against the Pune Warriors. The 6 ft 3 in tall and strong built Jamaican let loose right from the 2^nd over of the match.

Aaron Finch in throwing the ball to Ishwar Pandey, together with the big man who welcomed him with 5 boundaries of his first over, would have killed the debutant’s confidence then and there.

On this day, it didn’t matter who the bowler was or what form of bowling was being unleashed at him. Christopher Gayle decided to treat all bowlers with complete disdain and kept sending the ball towering over the ropes with a chilling frequency. If one were to assign inferences to Umpire Aleem Dar’s expression while signalling one of those umpteen sixes, it was just a feeling of relief that he was not doing the roles for the men in blue that evening.

Gayle hit 175 runs, a score that Virat Kohli would have been happy to walk back with as the team’s total to defend. That Gayle scored them in just 66 balls with 17 sixes and 14 fours, spoke of the brutality of the assault and the power that he could generate, the biceps, triceps and forearms refusing to buckle down. 

                                                  Chris Gayle enjoying the moment on scoring his century                                                     

Other than Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who bowled well but was still lucky enough on the day to have bowled most of his first spell of 3 overs to Dilshan, and Luke Wright who did get some of his deliveries to pitch short of length, there was nothing much in the Warriors’ bowling to be proud of. The bowlers were guilty of bowling full length and feeding Gayle who had come hungry on to the field that evening. The skipper Aaron Finch, Mitchell Marsh, left-armer Ali Murtaza and Ishwar Pandey, all bore the brunt of his onslaught.

AB de Villiers went on an offensive for RCB towards the end of the innings, scoring 31 of 8 balls, but the cameo ran a pale shadow when placed next to the blitzkrieg which lasted the entire innings and returned unbeaten.

Record book keepers were kept busy on the day. The highest score in a T20 of 175 runs; most sixes by a batsmen - 17; and the highest team total in T20 cricket - 263, all of them made their entry into the books.

Robin Uthappa who came in wired up when rain stopped play in the 2^nd over of the match mentioned that they couldn’t wait for the weather to clear up to get on with the match. In retrospect, the rains, had they continued might have helped the Warriors’ spirits and points tally to remain just a shade higher.

The Royal Challengers won with a massive 130 run difference. If anyone was looking at the possibility of RCB getting locked in a Net run-rate tussle to make the play-offs, Gayle has ensured that the battle would cease to be.

Let us not allow complacency to creep in yet

India might have won their recent home test series against Australia comprehensively with the last of them folding under 3 days. Sure enough, with a historic 4-0 whitewash to celebrate against a team with an aura like Australia, it is reason enough to celebrate.

There are enough reasons to raise a toast to the series - the young top order of Vijay, Dhawan and Pujara displaying rock-solid partnerships; the spin combination working viciously through the Australians’defence; the emergence of Jadeja as a surprise trump-card to add to the bowling guile of Ashwin and the useful contributions of the pace bowling unit & the lower middle order in batting.

But let’s just check our celebrations before we start believing that we are anywhere close to the summit in Test cricket.  Some experts including former captains have rightfully warned the celebrations from going overboard.

The next test series that India play is against the mighty South Africans in their own backyard, who at the moment, are bulldozing their way against all opposition irrespective of the conditions.

The lack of form in the core of India’s middle order in batting (Read – Sachin Tendulkar); the by now accepted norm & inability to knock off the opposition’s tail and finally the slip-catching seem to be the only chinks in the Indian team. Or so we would like to think.

We as a nation and a set of administrators have in the past, often displayed the tendency to get carried away and have refused to take note of the undercurrents.  

Here are the reasons why the Indian team management cannot let Complacency creep in:

Performances in the recent past

Since the last time the 2 teams met, South Africa have played 19 Tests – 10 at home and 9 away winning 12 of them with a Winning percentage of 63%, the same shooting up to 80% at home. India on the other hand have played 24 Test matches in the same period – 13 at home and 11 away with a winning % of just 38%, failing to register even a single overseas win in the interim.

Put together, the recent Proteas’ winning % at home and India’s winning % overseas provide a daunting visual thought to the Indian fan.

South Africa in Tests since Indian tour of SA in 2010-11
	Home Tests	Away Tests	Total
Wins	8	4	12
Losses	10	9	19
Win %	80%	44%	63%

 

South Africa in Tests since Indian tour of SA in 2010-11
	Home Tests	Away Tests	Overall
Wins	9	0	9
Losses	13	11	24
Win %	69%	0%	38%

Batting and Bowling woes in overseas tours

In their 8 test matches played in England and Australia in the last couple of years, India had registered a score of 300 and 400 only once each. The aggregate of both the innings’ totals of a match did not touch 500 runs in 5 of those occasions. 

Experts tend to focus only on the bowling weaknesses and the batting failures are often not remembered beyond the subsequent home series.

While the batting composition has taken a completely different shade in the last few months what with a couple of legends retiring and the opening pair of Sehwag-Gambhir finally being overlooked for their long-running dismal form, the inexperienced line-up will be seriously tested against some hostile bowling in the form of Steyn’s pace, Morkel’s bounce and Philander’s swing.

Not that the criticism directed at the bowling department has been undeserving. India’s bowling averages for the England and Australia series have been at a not so impressive 59.8 and 51.6 runs respectively. Forget a series win, as it happened, even a draw would seem a far-fetched dream with such performances.

If we really want to be counted seriously in test matches abroad, much needs to be looked at and pondered over on both the batting and bowling armoury.

Sachin Tendulkar and the middle order

The question mark on Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement remains – is he or is he not is a sword perpetually hanging over the fans and selectors alike by the looks of it.

Sachin, if selected, could be for the larger reason of playing the role of a mentor than merely that of a batsman, in this batting line-up so low on match experience.

The emotional side almost never wants him to do the sunset walk but his recent form suggests that even his stoic fans would not want the master batsman to linger on this way beyond his hay-days.

We are probably already behind schedule in allowing the younger lot of Ajinkya Rahane and the new avatar of Suresh Raina to get some opportunities to display their mettle (more opportunities in Raina's case), face some chin music  and try to stamp their place in the line-ups for the future.

All-rounders

While he’s just a series old, this responsibility already seems to be comfortably resting on Ravindra Jadeja’s shoulders at the moment. But in overseas conditions, am still tempted to look for a pace-bowling all-rounder.  Jadeja is still largely untested as a batsman at the test level too.

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar has indicated he’s willing to throw in his hat to be considered as one but again, a sum total of 4 innings to show as experience should hardly suffice to settle the butterflies in the management’s tummies.

It’s been 5 years since Irfan Pathan played his last match and he’s just about returned to competitive cricket in the domestic T20 tournament Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after an injury lay-off. It might be a bit of a stretch to include him in the squad but one does entertain thoughts of him returning to his past glory.

South Africa though, has some riches to flaunt around in this area starting with the evergreen Jacques Kallis who only seems to get better with age. Robin Peterson has proved to be a more than useful lower order bat and A B de Villiers in his role as a wicket-keeper batsman supports his stature in the team with a much higher career batting average than a lot of his counterparts around the world.

Pace Battery

Our pace battery looks extremely weak to take advantage of the seaming and bouncing conditions in South Africa.

Zaheer Khan is said to have started practice at the RCB nets for the upcoming IPL but his injury-prone nature will not leave the selectors depending on him to spearhead the attack.

Ishant Sharma in the last 5 series that he has played averages 58, 67, 90, 42 and 38, a disappointing progress to a career that had much to promise post the Ricky Ponting dismissals in Perth in 2007-08.

Munaf Patel has not been considered for a Test match since the 2011 tour of the West Indies. He is another victim of injuries and had started bowling recently in the domestic tournaments and made some useful contributions in the Deodhar Trophy. His accuracy in line and length could be useful but assessment of his fitness levels will dictate his consideration.

Umesh Yadav has been one of the rare reasons to cheer in the pace bowling area of late for India. While his pace, body structure and the amount of cricket that is being played would demand that he is handled delicately, let’s not expect common sense to prevail. The stakes that float around IPL and sometimes the insensitive manner in which the board has handled the players has meant that we might have to live with an injury prone Umesh for longer.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has just 1 series to show against his name so far but some of his contributions and his ability to swing the ball both ways mean that he would be a sure pick for South Africa.

Ashok Dinda and Praveen Kumar and a couple of top Ranji performers like Ishwar Pandey and Siddharth Kaul are the other players who are likely to be discussed for selection.

Sandeep Patil and his company of selectors have brought in a breath of fresh air, sending out some stern messages to the players so far irrespective of their seniority. Let us hope the wind continues to blow in the right direction ahead of the November tour.