Cricket N Joy

You said it Doully! Indian batsmen are paper tigers. They thrive on hype, celebrity status and filthy IPL money. Peel them, one layer after the other, and they stink like a rotten onion. Blistering pace, abnormal swing, moderate to heavy spin, a more than decent bowler - and they give you first innings scores of 36, 46, 155, 120 and the likes. Real Test cricketers don’t exist in today’s India.

I watched only a few hours of the 2nd Test Match. India spoiled a good start to capitulate under spin pressure.

Once again it is proved that if the pitch or the weather conditions are doing something (even if is 5-10%) Indian batsmen are crumbling.

Used to playing on flat beds, these pampered lot are not Test material at all. India should think of doing away the big names. Losing with them in the side is the most embarrassing.

Rishabh’s run out was to my mind the turning point. Completely mindless.

The entire lot deserves a dressing down.

Are you watching India play cricket of late?

I am, but not with the same enthusiasm that I did a year ago.

Of late, the Indian team looks jaded. No commitment on the field, no lessons learnt from stupid mistakes.

Take for instance the Nepal game yesterday.

Those missed catches and the sloppy fielding.

And, allowing the scoreboard to shoot up to 230!

Or for that matter, the horrible half an hour or so against Afridi and Shah. What were Kohli and Sharma thinking? Where the next crore will come from?

A bit of statistics. India is at the bottom of fielding efficiency in ODIs. At 72%, India is just above Afghanistan.

If you want to know why, have a good look at this picture.

Broad bids farewell: Ashes poised for exciting finish
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It’s not James Anderson. It’s his bowling partner for 17 years. It’s Stuart Broad.

At exactly 8.30pm Friday, 28 July Broad makes up his mind. He’s determined not to play Teat cricket again.

Broad walks up to Ben Stoke’s room, knocks on the door, enters. He breaks the news. The captain’s not shocked or surprised. He saw it coming.

Broad is relieved. He gets the monkey off his back.

Over 600 Test wickets, the second-highest wicket taker for England, and the fourth bowler overall to cross this milestone, Broad is a star.

Still at the crease at the end of the third day with Jimmy Anderson, the duo can stretch England’s lead to more than 400.

And, then we’ll have a match on our hands. My money is on England. The lion’s on the prowl. The kangaroos may not be able to scamper home.

Broad’s swan song may just be an eventful one.

Crawley makes Australia crawl

What an innings by Zak Crawley. Absolutely breathtaking!

189 off 182 balls is some achievement in Test cricket. And, his century came off just 93 balls.

From whatever I have seen of Crawley, he plays aggressively from the word go. Remember the expansive cover drive off the very first ball in the series opener.

Crawley fits into the Bazball scheme of things perfectly. And, that’s why he’s been around for sometime as the England opener.

His records are nothing great. But yesterday was his day. And, he blasted the Aussie attack like a Viv Richards on song. Some of his drives were a treat to watch.

Joe Root played well but was unfortunate not to get a century. Bowled off a Hazlewood shooter, he walked dejectedly back. But not before England had the lead.

England have the upper hand in this test match. Crawley, Root and Moeen made the Aussie attack look pedestrian.

With Stokes and Brook at the crease, 500 looks to be an easy task. They have Bairstow and Woakes yet to bat.

If the series gets tied at 2-2, the decider will be a crowd-puller.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Oldies at Old Trafford: Four for 33

England bring back Anderson in the 4th Test Match starting at Old Trafford Manchester today.

Anderson replaces Ollie Robinson, who is unfit. The England pace quartet is ageing.

All the four bowlers, Anderson, Broad, Woakes and Wood are over 33.

It’s a Dad’s Army - in fact all of them are fathers.

The last time an older attack played the Ashes was in 1928. That was for Australia.

Bradman was part of this team. Australia lost the match badly, and two of the bowlers never returned to play Test cricket again.

In this England attack, Mark Wood is the only genuine fast bowler.

He bowled at an average speed of 150 kmph in the last outing and troubled the Aussie batsmen.

The rest are trundlers. Anderson has taken only three wickets so far. At his best, he can only hold up one end. His wicket-taking days are all but over.

Broad has bowled well in patches. Woakes swung the ball well at Headingley. Whether they can repeat their acts at Old Trafford remains to be seen.

With rain predicted at Manchester over the weekend, this Test Match may end in a dull draw.

Only Bazball can make a difference. Either way.

The India vs West Indies test match was a no-brainer.

I think there’s no cricket follower in the world who thought West Indies would win. Not even any of the West Indian players. Leave aside the fans.

Cricket, like any other sport, becomes dull and boring when the result is a foregone conclusion. There’s nothing in it for the paying spectator or the millions of fans who watch on the telly.

Except for Yashasvi Jaiswal, I wasn’t interested in the performance of any of the Indian players. None of them had the star power.

But Ravichandran Ashwin came good. His 12 wickets in the match was a snub on the face of the selectors. And, the captain and coach.

That the think tank can keep such a bowler out of India’s Test Match eleven is something that bewilders me no end. Every time he isn’t there, my heart bleeds. And, I curse the powers that be.

My man of the match for the Dominica Test was Ravi Ashwin. Not for his dozen wickets but for standing up and proving the gods of Indian cricket wrong once again.

Hats off RCA!

India take on the West Indies in the first test match of the new WTC cycle.

Windsor Stadium, Roseau in the beautiful island of Dominica is the venue. I remember the Hindi song “ Dai Dominica….”

On paper and current form, India appear to be the stronger team. But, you never know. It’s Rohit Sharma’s India after all.

I am excited for Yashashwi Jaiswal. So, must you be. He is a promising left-hander with lots of talent and strokes.

Jaiswal will open with Rohit, and Subhman will come in at number three. Kohli and Rahane will follow.

I would definitely go for Ishan Kishan as the wicketkeeper batsman because he is aggressive.

And, you need such batsmen against the WI pacers. Bharat, to me, has never looked good.

India will play three pacers and two spinners. Unadkat will make the cut I hope. Navdeep Saini may not play. Siraj will spearhead the fast bowlers.

The assets in the Indian team: Jaiswal and Gill. The liabilities: Rohit, Virat and Rahane.

In the opposition I will look out for Tagenaraine Chanderpaul.

Cricket runs in his blood.

England wins: Wood the hero
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Fittingly, Mark Wood won the MoM award.

He brought a lot of constructive energy to the team. Both with bowling and batting.

He is the smiling assassin who knows how to get his victim. He shoots at 150 kmph. Most importantly, he takes wickets.

Finally, on the fourth day of the Test Match England crossed the line. Harry Brook, Chris Woakes and Wood (16 off 8 balls) saw them through.

Although, Mitchell Starc made it a little difficult for the hosts towards the end.

Overall, a good Test Match in which fortunes swung either way. The weather played a big role, and Australia suffered the most from it. It was a difficult second innings for them.

The only difference between the two teams is Bazball. If England sticks to it, they’ll lose the series. If they take to it only when needed, the series will be alive till the last ball is bowled.

Let’s look forward to the theatrics. I bet there’s more to come.

England has the advantage
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England may just be able to keep the Ashes alive. Only if they shun Bazball. At least for today.

The Aussies succumbed to good pace and swing. But for Travis Head, England would have had a much paltry score to chase.

Broad and Woakes bowled well. Wood worked up a lively pace and unsettled the Australian batsmen.

It promises to be an exciting day today.

For the Aussies, Cummins and Co: will have to bowl out of their skins to make a match of it.

Especially Scott Boland. He can be a handful.

Gritty Cummins and gutsy Stokes balance Headingley equation:
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The honours were even at the end of the 2nd day’s play.

Significant contributions by both the captains have kept the match alive.

While Cummins finished with figures of 6/91 of 18 overs, Stokes hit five fours and six sixes for his 80 off 108 balls.

Mitchell Marsh (17) and Travis Head (18) were at the crease, with Australia ahead by 142 runs.

If Moeen Ali or Mark Wood can trigger an Aussie collapse, the match may well be over by today.

If it pours (strong chance), the match may meander into the fourth day.

After the Bairstow incident in the last match, there have been no love lost between the players on the ground.

I hope you heard Bairstow saying “ I said cheers”only” when Smith was leaving the field.

Duckett had caught him off Moeen for only 2 runs.

May the rain gods have a rest day today. Or, else we will miss the drama!