The Indian Premier League – An English reaction

Browsing the web I was intrigued to find that an Indian domestic Twenty 20 competition should dominate headlines in England – but then this isn’t just another Twenty20 competition.
With headlines like ‘ECB must stop Twenty20 becoming road to India’ and 'Cricket in turmoil as IPL puts future of Tests in doubt', the doomsayers are plenty for a country already renowned for their ability to whinge and complain.

Quotes such as:
Money has done a lot of talking. Couldn't be better? Don't believe it. The game is hurtling towards a crossroads and not only might it struggle to know which way to turn, it might also have little choice in the matter. One country, India, is setting the pace and plotting the direction.
India is dictating where world cricket should go. This has been a fear of English cricket for a long time and for years before the IPL. A group of countries should never dictate terms and this is what the subcontinent will do. Heaven forbid that a core group of countries (India and the subcontinent) dictate to other countries (England and Australia) what should happen in World cricket.

This train of thought continues:
Vibrant though the game might be in three countries – England, Australia and India – there are profound concerns that most of the power, influence and, crucially, money will all belong to India.

Cricket is a democratic game and no single country or group should every wield power over the others. This will be akin to a key group of countries dictating and determining the direction of the world game. Not in a game like cricket.
Of course this was never a worry in the 80s when England and Australia dominated World cricket. When Lords was the seat of all cricketing power and the head of the ICC was ruled by the colonial rules of the game. When the subcontinental ‘colonies’ towed the line and were but mere pawns in the game.

There is even thought so far to thing that the IPL will foresee the end of test cricket:
Test cricket, the blue riband version of the game, is under impending threat. In six of the 10 countries where it is played, it is virtually unwatched most of the time by live audiences, while in a seventh, Zimbabwe, it has not been played for almost three years and may never be again.
Obviously this is the fault of the IPL and Indian cricket. Let’s evaluate the health of cricket in the test playing countries.

• Zimbabwe – even in the healthiest of conditions Zimbabwe cricket is the least of the worries for the former Rhodesia. I doubt any damage the IPL could do could surpass that already done.
• West Indies – leave Test cricket, any cricket is struggling to stay afloat in the former powerhouse of world cricket mainly due to their own undoing. If anything, the IPL may revive some interest in the game. Of course, the money involved could never be compared with but if nothing else young West Indians may revert back to cricket in a hope to get to the IPL and in turn produce some stars for West Indies cricket.
• Bangladesh – I would venture to guess that when they could most Bangladeshis would watch their team – be it Test match or One Day international. The game may not be thriving but then cricket is in its infancy in Bangladesh. With no Bangladeshi players involved in the IPL, the impact on cricket in Bangladesh may be as great as a couple of Bangladeshi players lifting their game to be picked for the IPL – surely that couldn’t hurt their test chances.
• New Zealand – In this rugby mad country, cricket is merely an interruption to proceedings. Except for a group of cricketing tragics, cricket does not form the core sporting appetite and will never have the following that it garners in other parts of the world. While there have been several defections to the rebel ICL league, the IPL mainly has retired cricket stars and with the seriousness afforded to Test cricket in New Zealand as it is, the IPL’s impact may be a major as making a few of the players a bit heavier in their bank balance.
• Sri Lanka – Any form of cricket is followed with a passion in Sri Lanka and with their recent test win in the Carribean things can only look brighter for the longer form of the game. As with most subcontinental countries, the passion for cricket in Sri Lanka is such that the IPL will never eclipse thje love for the national game.
• Pakistan – Heading down the Zimbabwe route, the fact that cricket even rates a mention is a surprise and the only escape from the harsh realities of the country. With the recent ban of Shoaib Akhtar the road for the revival of Pakistan cricket seems rather long. Any damage the IPL does will be far outweighed by the damage already done to the national game from a combination of the Pakistan Cricket Board and current and former players.
• Australia – Cricket will always be strong in Australia and the pride in the national team can never be overshadowed by anything as trivial as the IPL.
• India – Any cricket be it trivial will be swallowed by the Indian cricket fan and the appetite for cricket knows no satiety in that one form of cricket will never overshadow another in India. While the IPL may be hugely popular, the intensity of an India-Australia Test series can never be outmatched by an IPL game.
• England – English cricket is a game run by those from a bygone era with gentleman donning their whites and sipping their tea with a crumpet or two. The launch of Twenty20 cricket was in fact in England where it was treated as a circus predating the real proceedings. The traditions and roots of colonial times are never to be questioned. With all due respect to English cricket, crowds are not drawn to local games due to the quality and formats used. A revamp may be required in English cricket, but the IPL is not even remotely the instigator for this change. At least with the IPL, English players may get a chance to play cricket rather than sit in the rooms while the rain pours down…

The fear of the unknown and something new (especially from the former colonies and the east) has gripped English cricket. Kerry Packer’s World Cricket was viewed differently as it wasn’t stemmed from the East.

The basis for the fear is ‘a local competition that draws international players from Test playing countries for sums of money’. Inconceivable? I can think of one such competition that has been running for years with no impact to the global game – County Cricket… but then that’s English.

Cricket Wrap-Up - India vs South Africa Test 1, New Zealand vs England

A very good friend of mine had been kind enough to share his views on the recently concluded New Zealand - England cricket series and the ongoing India-South Africa cricket series. I'd like to thank him for sharing some of his views and insights into the series.

India vs South Africa
India versus South Africa - great test match. Good on Sehwag with 319, and a pity he didn't get closer to Brian Lara's record. That must be some battingwicket, because everybody is scoring good runs. However, I think SouthAfrican bowling attack came back well on 4th day, and it headed to a draw. Could'nt see a result. There is very little in both teams - both on top of game. I think South Africa will get better as Test series goes on, so India will need to be at their best. I am picking South Africa win this test series. They have the all round package, unless Kumble and Harbhajan Singh can tweak some magic.

New Zealand vs England
The ultimate difference between the New Zealand cricket test team andEngland cricket test team is that their batsmen went on to make 100's. There is a mental block in New Zealand batsman to go and get a bigscore, and over 100. Only Taylor may 120 in Hamilton, and I think he has a lot of class. Fleming always looks the goods but never goes on wtih it, Jamie How is a good prospect - plays like a test bastman, and sadly Matthew Sinclair and Matthew Bell are all at sea in their games at the moment. Vettori, in the last three years, after Mark Richardson has been our best batsman and he bats at number 7.
Never really fan of Geoffrey Boycott as a batsman, but in a test match,like Dravid you dig in, work at your game, and try to score a 100. I thought Monty Panesar bowled a really teasing line and New Zealanders and they did not know how to play him too well. Played across the line, and got out, and didn't read him too well. Now, we are off to England, and that is going to be a great test series, but you've got to say England looks the favourites.

Team India 2.0

India have won the Commonwealth Bank series by comprehensively outplaying Australia in both games of the finals series – beating the top ranked team in the world in their own backyard. What is more they have completed their victories in a thoroughly professional manner putting to rest all the demons and controversy off the field.

Actions speak louder than words and in the end it was this young Indian side led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni that let their bats and the ball do all the talking – in fact the ball really talked in the hands of Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma.

A fairytale ending to the series for a young Indian side missing it’s superstars – barring Tendulkar, written off before the series even began and coming back to stun the World Champions and not only win but do so with style. Less than six months ago, this young Indian team was lifting aloft the World Twenty-20 final – which spurred amongst other things the Indian Premier League but more importantly a new era in Indian cricket.

Kudos to the players and coaching staff – but also to the selectors for retaining their faith in youth and moving forward with the transition to a core team for the next world cup. Indian cricket looks to be in good hands with no shortage of players having also just won the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia.

But with Indian cricket, one never knows – for there are countless players who burst onto the world cricket stage only to disappear out of even state cricket into retirement and beyond…never to return.
Let’s hope this isn’t the beginning of the end.

It's Just Not Cricket

The last decade has been a turbulent one for World Cricket – with the dizzying highs of England’s Ashes triumph to the shocking lows of the match fixing saga…

But that was all behind us… Twenty 20 cricket had smashed its way on to the world stage with a World Cup tournament second to none. And after the fiasco that was the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, it was a welcome change to have a global tournament where supporters would be praying for their team to win and not to ensure there wasn’t an electricity cut! – As an aside kudos to South Africa cricket for organising such a fantastic world cup. They did it with the 2003 world cup and have followed suit with the Twenty 20. This would support a very strong case for the next football (soccer for any Americans out there…) world cup to be staged in Africa.

Just as normal service seemed to have resumed in the cricket world today, a new interruption occurs – a Racism row in an India-Australia series. The immediate reaction to a statement like this has always been ‘What have the Aussies done now?’ (Unfortunately, there have been several incidents where they have lacked indiscretion and insensitivity when it comes to other cultures – a la Dean Jones and Darren Lehmann). But they seemed to have learnt from the past or maybe it was all that time Brett Lee spent singing with Asha Bhosle!

This time around, the Aussies are on the receiving end – to be more precise; one Aussie – Andrew Symonds. The claims are that he was subjected to monkey noises and taunts as he came out to bat by the crowd – most recently in Mumbai. There have been some culprits identified but no real action taken - herein lies the issue. Not that there was some childish, ignorant idiot in the crowd doing what he thought was a lot of fun, but that this issue has not been nipped in the bud (of course it doesn’t help that there are players in the team that instigate and promote such reckless behaviour). What is most appalling is that the BCCI proudly states that they have not complied with the ICC ruling to appoint a racism commissioner to stamp out this behaviour in the game. The reason; India is too big. Surely a board that is supposed to manage all aspects of cricket in India can find a way. Further, Mr Niranjan Shah, Secretary of the BCCI, argues for Symonds to prove that he was subjected to abuse. Surely, Mr Shah, that is what the board should do!

Here’s something for Mr Niranjan Shah and the BCCI to ponder:

Have every cricket board appoint a racism commissioner for their state – this should not just combat racial abuse at visiting international teams but at state teams as well. World articles talk about the caste issue in India but that is not as prevalent as something more dangerous – the state bias; South versus North; State vs State.

Have an overall chief commissioner present at every international series akin to the match umpire.

Impose strict bans and fines on improper crowd behaviour – it may mean that security actually have to work for a living rather than watch the game but then…

Of course this will cost money (that the BCCI has in bucketfuls – gold bucketfuls) and it will take a lot of process and paperwork (which the BCCI also already has). But before any of this, the BCCI has to take the matter seriously. This is NOT something that can be brushed aside and must be dealt with swiftly!

This is one occasion where the issue of racism must be stamped out immediately without partiality – it has no place today – either in the game or our day to day lives. Most importantly, it puts a damper on what is still perceived to be a gentleman’s game - it's just not cricket!

Shivaji: The Boss - A Review

Rajnikanth, the evergreen hero of the Tamil film industry, an icon in his own right and in millions of minds in India makes a much anticipated return to film in the movie ‘Shivaji’. Teaming up with director Shankar (of Gentleman, Jeans and Indian fame) and music maestro AR Rahman, super star Rajnikanth provides 3 hours and 5 minutes of non-stop entertainment.



The storyline and plot are nothing to inspire. The usual formulaic ideas reveal themselves again. Why else would this be a Rajnikanth movie? Aesthetically pleasing with some unique numbers from AR Rahman featuring Blaaze and his rap stylings. (Blaaze actually grew up with me, so it’s nice to see him live his dream).

The heroine Shriya does an adequate job while Vivek in a comedy role provides numerous laughs particularly at Rajnikanth’s expense as he mimics him on multiple occasions. Suman plays and acts his villainous role to perfection.

The witty dialogues by Sujatha play puns on the movie’s name and the actors of yesteryear, particularly the late Sivaji Ganeshan and on previous Rajnikanth movies.

While I could go into the storyline and the nuances of the movie, to be quite honest, there isn’t much to it. Just another crowd pleaser providing good solid entertainment with plenty of comedy, drama, action and romance along the way. Set to make crores and crores at the box office, tickets have already been sold out for months in advance in India, even at an asking price of 1500 rupees.

Check it out at a theatre near you… and please leave your brain at home. Definitely one of the better tamil movies I have seen recently.

I rate it 5/5 for pure entertainment.

My Kingdom for a Coach

Graham Ford is India’s new coach – well, not really. He has turned down the job for ‘personal reasons’. As many columnists have pointed out (including Mukul Kesavan and Ian Chappell), the BCCI were very egoistical (for lack of a better word or rather because there is no better word) in their selection process for the coach. Of course, one could expect nothing less from an organisation that utilise an equally cumbersome and political process to select the cricket team itself. But cricket selection is the topic for another rant blog!

The BCCI in all their glory probably felt that the lure of several zeros before a decimal point would be all that is required to entice their chosen candidate to the coaching role. Alas, that was not to be. It seems Graham Ford put his personal life before his career and of course, money – a train of thought that would probably be lost on the BCCI.

Several comments have emerged as to why he turned down the job. The speculation is rife from his tentativeness to be in the subcontinent to the apparent shock at the appalling state of affairs within the BCCI. Of course, the other speculation is that he simply wanted a free trip to India. Is it so hard to believe that his personal circumstances may simply have changed? Or that after further contemplation, he simply didn’t feel it was the right opportunity for him at the moment? Could it be that his reason’s were oh so simple and obvious?

On thing is for certain, I wouldn’t want the Jamaican police investigating his reasons for turning down the job!

The ICC wise men - Part 1

Recently, the International Cricket Council formed a cricket committee to look at all matters cricket. At their recently concluded two day meeting in Dubai, numerous recommendations were unleashed on to the unsuspecting public. All designed to rekindle interest and better cricket all the world round.

Firstly, the issue of ball tampering reared it’s ugly head. The list of unfair or unpermitted actions included:

• Deliberately throwing the ball into the ground to rough it up.
• Applying any non-artificial substance for the purpose other than to polish the ball.

How the umpires are meant to discern that the actions are deliberately to change the condition of the ball is beyond me. What if a fielder drops the ball on the ground, is that now deliberate or uncoordination? Fielders in the outfield often throw bump balls to ensure the ball gets to the stumps or fielders. Do fielders with weak arms now get penalised?

It is understandable and quite commendable that ball tampering is on the forefront of the committee and the eradication of such on their minds. However, the line between deliberate tampering and accidental is so thin that even if one were pulled up for the offence, the evidence presented may not stand up at all.

Regardless of all the rules and regulations enforced, tampering will always lurk in some corner of the cricketing outfield waiting to rear it’s ugly head. The only thing one can expect from the officials is consistency across both teams.

It reminds me of an anecdote by Chris Pringle, former New Zealand fast bowler and his escapades in Pakistan. While reverse-swing was still in its infancy, New Zealand toured Pakistan at a time when neutral umpires were unheard of. By consistently scuffing up the ball, Imran Khan and his band of merry cricketers were able to devastate through the New Zealand batting lineup. After numerous complaints to the umpire that went unheeded, Chris Pringle decided that he would fight fire with fire. Using a bottle top on the outfield, he scuffed the cricket ball to return his best ever figures in international cricket. When the Pakistan team complained to the umpire, his response was Now it is the same for both teams

More to follow.

Murder they tried to write...

Bob Woolmer, former coach of the Pakistan cricket team, was found dead in his hotel room on March 18. Since then, there have been many twists and turns in the investigation by Jamaican police. Such varying reports from strangulation to snake venom in wine bottles to the implication of former Pakistani cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed.

Enter Scotland Yard. After detailed investigations, their conclusions were a lot less sensational. Bob Woolmer died of natural causes – heart failure and chronic ill health. Claims that had been rubbished by the Jamaican Police as unhelpful.

Spare a thought for the Woolmer family, being to-ed and fro-ed in multiple directions. But still the drama continued, with the lead pathologist claiming that he stood by his story.
Amidst all this was of course public speculation on divides within the Pakistan camp and claims of match fixing and fundamentalism.

It seems that the rollercoaster has come to an end. Although, Jamaican police are yet to officially comment, it is not widely being reported that they will have to make a retraction that Bob Woolmer did in fact die of natural causes. An unfortunate but rather mundane affair after all.

A full chronology is on Cricinfo
I guess that’s why there isn’t a CSI: Jamaica.

Surface-ing

First they took the desktop world by storm, then they took on Java, then the iPod (albeit unsuccessfully) and the world of gaming (with better success). Now Microsoft, look set to change the way we ‘interface’ with computers. In the world of computers and software in particular, user interface design and methodologies are often overlooked as a means to an end. Of course the times have changed with the advent of the rich Web 2.0 and feature rich operating systems such as Windows Vista.

Mobile devices and tablet pcs took human computer interaction to a new frontier with interfaces more ‘natural’. The push for user friendly interfaces has become more prevalent in today’s world with design principles such as natural mapping coming to the fore. The importance on look and feel of an application is almost as significant as if it actually works. Often devices fail not because of their inability to function but because they are not user friendly or intuitive.
Of course there are exceptions, such as the Blackberry. Why such an expensive, functional device has a keyboard so small still amazes me? After much contemplation I have come to only one conclusion – outsourcing. It must be cheaper to build a blackberry in the land of Lilliput! But I digress…

Where is all this going? Microsoft of course! Microsoft has taken human computer interfaces to a new degree. The Surface. Yep – that’s what they called it. It’s describes as a coffee table computer that interacts with whatever is placed on the surface. So you can write on it, use a touch screen. There is even a suggestion that placing a cellphone on it will automatically download ringtones to your mobile device.



Some might say it’s just a glorified tablet. That it may be, but if truly integrates with it’s surroundings, it presents a significant advance in device-to-device communication. Of course, being a table, it enables multiple users to interact with the system at the same time. A whole new meaning to the word – lunch/coffee meeting. The concept is that you can sit around this ‘coffee table’ and hold meetings, conferences in a significantly different way.

As impressed as I was with this coffee table of tommorow, one question still irked my mind: Where do I actually keep my coffee? According to some comments, barcode technology will be used meaning that the Surface will not interact with any device it hasn’t been programmed to recognize. So rather than refilling my coffee cup when I place it on the Surface, I’ll simply get an unsightly stain.

Maybe the next plugin to the Microsoft Surface should be the Surface Cleaner!