Why do my blogs always meander towards cricket???

My God!Why do I always take such a long break between posting blogs.This is a question I have asked myself umpteen number of times and the answer is no where near than the ICL being recognized by the BCCI. That the question is not philosophical or rheotorical is well understood but to coin a term that exactly defines my inability to update regularly is beyond my reach.Perhaps like the 'Lazy eye' syndrome,I should term it as something scientific sounding like 'Lazioblogalis', which cut down to its barest form means "I am a moron so lazy that i can't even update blogs regularly".

Now enough of self-criticism.

Let us come to the topic of the day which is why do my blogs always contain some cricket or other.The reason is simple.I love cricket and blogging about it and reliving those moments of glory is always a welcome proposal.

Now that India had toured Australia,being beaten in the test series 2-1 which we should won by the same scoreline thanks to Australia playing with 13 players on the field(Yup!You guessed correctly,the umpires are whom I am referring to),I have arrived at the conclusion that either India is extremely unlucky with umpires whenever we go abroad(for further details refer my India tour of England blog)or those who officiate should be renamed 'MORONS' because even a blind man will officiate better.Not that it mattered a whole lot for we literally and royally ****** Australia in the ODI series.How it must have felt for Ponting in the last edition of the series,one can only imagine.

Coming to other matters,my job is going good,got myself a new mobile and I plan to write regular blogs,not just something that involves cricket but something philosophical, idiotical, or whatever crap that i can churn out of my mind that makes it worth reading.

Rahul Dravid "The Moron"

Can it get any worse?Having made the opposition kneel at your feet with 114 on the board and 3 wickets remaining,it was a simple matter of wrapping up the match.Instead we get to see a record 8th wicket partnership that not only clinched the match for England but may also have put the series beyond our reach.All thanks to Dravid's ineptness in bringing about bowling changes and horrible field settings in the latter half of the game.How could a person so experienced setup such a field in which the batsmen take runs at liberty when they should be poking at the ball afraid that they may not last the next ball.India's response to its low total was fantastic to start and till Bopara and Broad came together everything clicked.But the killer instinct that we had seen missing on too many occasions came to the fore and once again India lost.This is so similar to the third test against Pakistan in which Pakistan was 26/5 and instead of bundling them out Rahul Dravid's shoddy fielding setup and improper bowling changes let Kamran Akmal score a century and Pakistan drew the match.

Its really pathetic to see the Indian team's poor fielding and Dravid's uninspiring captaincy,not to mention lacklustre batting be on display just when the test series was won so convincingly.Its better to have someone else as ODI captain while Dravid remains the test captain.Not because of this performance alone but starting from the World Cup debacle.If Australia had been bundled out for 192,it would have trounced Bangladesh by bundling them out for a sub 100 total,not because they have a superior bowling attack but they possess the killer instinct so abudantly and which we as a team,especially the captain lacks so much.This was not the case when Sourav was the captain because Ganguly loved challenges and took it to the opposition.Also his skills as a leader are definitely superior,which indicates that a team is only as good as its captain.

A lion leading a bunch of rabbits will squash a pack of lions led by a rabbit.

Glory after 21 years

The Indian team emulated its performance in the 1986 tour of England by winning this series and making sure that the Pataudi trophy remains in India.Quite a few noteworthy performances were seen in this series especially Zaheer Khan and Dinesh Karthik.Not that the others were useless,they too had contributed magnificiently,just that these two were consistent in terms of performance.

Amongst the most scintillating moments,the century by Jumbo,our dear old Kumble,stands out for its grit and effort.Who said that bowlers make lousy batsmen?Some of his cover drives were text book shots and beauties to watch.A significant achievement in his last series in England,getting a hundred,a dream for all bowlers that turns into reality for very few like Wasim Akram and Chaminda Vaas.Poor Warne,for all his amazing talents,the three figures eluded him all his career.His highest score was 99,something that would be excruciatingly painful in hindsight,when you sit by the fire with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.Kumble may not be as gifted as Warne but his hard work more than made up for it by helping him achieve his dream.

And,to add to that,who can forget the devastative piece of swing bowling dished out by Zaheer and RP Singh in the second test that stood out for its agression,innovation and perseverance,bamboozling the English batsmen into playing down the wrong line.A very improved and consistent bowling performance from the team which was found wanting in that department whenever we toured overseas.

Of course,how can we leave out Sachin and Sourav for their awesome batting displays,though it was in patches doesn't matter.Dravid's astute captaincy came to the fore in this series though in hindsight few decisions could have been better.All said and done,the team has picked itself after the disastrous World Cup campaign and shown that we are no longer wimps when it comes to travelling abroad.A truly cherishable moment that will remain etched forever among India's greatest triumphs.

P.S:Umpiring standards have seen a new low in this series.I have to refer my dictionary if I have to write about those moronic decisions without using unparliamentary words.

First Taufel,now Howell!!

The umpiring horrors of the Engish summer continues.Simon Taufel kickstarted this blunder campaign and Ian Howell has followed nicely in his footsteps,proving that he too is as demented as Taufel was when it comes to judgement of LBW's.Perhaps they should be sent back to training class.

Sourav Ganguly.The guy who launched his career in the hallowed turfs of England thought he had a chance to finish his last tour of England nicely but the umpiring gods had other plans.Two tests and two bad decisions including the fact that he was well set in both cases would make for a good tragedy.The rueful smile that came when the Howell gave him out,inspite of the ball having nicked the inside edge,conveyed it all:the disappointment,the frustration and the anger. Why the hell did God give Ian Howell a pair of eyes that would put a blind man to shame?When you can't pick up an inside edge when giving LBW decisions,sorry mate,you are not fit enough to be a umpire.This probably will be the last time we will see Dada swing his bat in England and the finish expected from his bat was not intended to be.

Now we will come to the curious case of "Dinesh Karthik And The Un-Nicked Ball".Ian Howell,poor guy,what a handicap it must be,not being able to see clearly compounding his hearing problems.Damn!I thought umpires were intelligent but here we see a clear anamoly of that.The decisions were third rate,to say the least.Poor Karthik.Yet another century gone begging.He must have been so hopeful when he reached 90.We should give those deaf idiots headphones capable of delivering 2000W PMPO and see perhaps if that helps.The Snicko clearly registerd nothing and yet our dear Howell heard something.Perhaps it was already poor eardrums that popped,unable to take in the deafening silence when the ball passed the bat, making him believe that it was a nick that he had heard.

All said and done,you cannot overrule the umpires decision so it stays.But the abysmal standard of umpiring ought to make the ICC sit up and take notice of the pathetic state the umpires in the Elite panel are.Ironic,isn't it.The ICC pick the best and the picked turn out to be the worst(I don't blame the entire umpire community.But when respected people like Taufel start making awful decisions,that,guys,is the limit).

P.S:Does the ICC have a quota for the handicapped in umpire selection like they do in academics?Coz Ian Howell definitely qualifies for the "Blind and Deaf" category.

Good team effort

The Indian team for once decided to showcase both their bowling and batting talents in one match itself.I am not being sarcastic but it was one of the very few circumstances in which both the departments shone.India's prowess has always been its batting.We haven't shown ourselves to have a particularly strong bowling in the recent past which makes this effort all the more sweet.

After a very good bowling performance in the first innings,the batsmen did what was required of them,i.e.,put the match out of England's reach.Though England ran away with the first session of Day 4 plundering runs at will,the bowling after lunch was raised a few notches the LBW of Kevin Peterson being a fine example.Zaheer's impeccable line and late swing did England in and the tail was not allowed to wag,something that we have often allowed in the past .A sub 75 target was never going to be a diificult task on a pitch that had no devils in it and Karthik along with Jaffer saw to it India didn't lose early wickets while Ganguly and Dravid saw India home,fitting enough since both these great batsmen made their debut in England and this could well be their last tour of England.Overall a good effort by the whole team and a victory to savour.

A special note on Karthik: This guy has got a wonderful temparament to go along with his sound technique and is quite aggressive too.He has settled wonderfully into the role of an opener and if he continues like this,Sehwag may well be looking at a spot in the middle order when he returns.

How Dumb can Taufel be

Simon Taufel.Regarded to be one of the best umpires in cricket in the likes of Harold 'Dicky' Bird and David Shepherd because of the astonishing accuracy of his decisions has just proved himself to be as human as other ordinary umpires.Now,when you are in the Elite panel of umpires it means that the guys out there in ICC consider your judgement of the game to be pretty good.

But horrendous decisions like the ones Taufel gave yesterday makes one reconsider the quality of umpiring going on.Before all the people out there cry out loud that 'Cricket is just a game.Everybody is human.Blah Blah Blah Blah!',I would like you to consider the situation of the game yesterday.Tendulkar was batting well,finally having got his groove back(not fully,but satisfying)and looking on course for a magnificient century.What could have possibly prevented him from reaching that landmark?.Only a dumb decision.AND THAT IS WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED.One of the most horrific leg before decisions i have ever seen.God!!Just because a batsmen doesn't offer a shot will not mean he is out.Come on.Have some sense.In giving a LBW decsion,the height of the ball when it strikes the batsmen has to clearly noted because it shows whether the ball will go on to hit the stumps or not.In Sachin's case the ball did miss offstump.Replays also showed that.Now,those who cry foul at my blog saying that the 'Pressure in the game is too much.The umpires have to take split second decsions while the audience have the luxury of deciding in the comfort of their homes' I would like to emphasise that it is a prerequisite to have a cool head when you want to be a umpire.If you have doubts take the help of technology.Yesterday Taufel did take his own sweet time to give the decision,a rarity,clearly showing that he was in a dilemma.Finally the fact that Sachin didn't offer a shot probably did him in but nevertheless an awful decision from what we call a 'good' umpire.

As for the Ganguly episode, the lesser said the better.What do you have the stump mike for?Probably to overhear what the players are chitchatting in between the overs.A kind of entertainment for the overworked umpires!!!When I can't hear a nick,sitting in my living room surrounded by my family talking nineteen to the dozen when the ball passed Ganguly's bat,how come did Taufel hear it.And remember the English crowd is not as noisy as their Indian conterparts.Another well deserved century missed out due to,if i may say,negligence on the part of the umpire.

You see its a paradox.If a bad decision is made,blame is put on not using the available technology to arrive at correct decisions.But if a bad decision is made even after the use of proper technology,what to say.Audience like me can only sigh.Make it a double sigh.

All said and done this leads to two possible solutions.Either the technology is dumb or Simon Taufel is dumb(with due regard to all his brilliant decisions made in other matches).And as far as i am concerned it is Simon Taufel who acted DUMB with a capital D on the third day of the second India-England test.