Get in line - the madness continues
Now, Pankaj Advani says: WTF. Meanwhile, the Kerala govt. rewards Robin Uthappa because Mrs. U hails from Kozhikode - one may describe it as her stew-and-appam days.And finally, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands sends a cheque to Dinesh Karthik, for, well, being the nearest rewardable cricketer, geographically speaking.
Biis ka biis
Well done, Indian cricket team - for serving up a really good final and for winning. Poor Misbah ul-haq - had two chances in two matches, and got Klusener-ed again in the end. Perhaps, 10 years later, he will coach the Pakistani women's cricket team to a World Cup win. I guess at age 33, you will be coming to I*L. If that happens, you'll probably be facing the last over of a match with Zulu at the other end.Perhaps the men grinning the most in the world right now are Subhash Chandra and Lalit Modi - their Leagues are now officially "on". The cuts to Shah Rukh Khan took away the sheen with the yes-the-emperor-is-in-attendance waves (anyway, this is why Lalit Modi and Rajeev Shukla "play" the game).
Perhaps I'm the only one thinking of Sachin Tendulkar on this occasion: another reason why you are the unluckiest genius the world has ever seen.
Defending Twenty20 and me
At today's BC quiz, I was accused of looking down upon the Twenty20 form, which is contrary to my stated position. So I use this, my blog, to set the record straight and remove this horrid blot from my name, so that at least the three men and Montmorency reading these words will know my story. This, my friends, is my story.I like the format - it makes eminent sense, especially given the miasmic pits of boredom that the 50-over game has unfortunately fallen into. The best batting display of this year's ODI season actually came in a 20-20 match - Adam Gilchrist's astonishing, I-was-privileged-to-watch-that-live(on TV) innings in the World Cup Final. Here is a format that unabashedly promotes the excitement that a cricket match can generate, trying to leave the middleman (i.e. the overs from 15 to 40) out. There's none of the defensiveness that the middle format has laden cricket promoters with.
And contrary to fears, it has not all been a slogathon. In fact, I'm more tired of 50-over slogathons such as that 400+ chase and some of the matches in the subcontinent - there you watch it for 100 overs. In contrast, here, the hitting ends in a compact 3 hours. Additionally, the success of two of the least experienced sides in this format in the Twenty20 tournament has been due to their all-round games. Otherwise, you would have had South Africa and West Indies in the finals. The creators of the format, New Zealand and the Englishmen, have not quite distinguished themselves. The Englishmen have been a right bunch of nincompoops, actually.
It's a pity that the final will be played at The Wanderers, which more than any other ground in the world, has aided the slam-bang-wallop nature of the shorter formats. Durban or Capetown have seen more wholesome matches, the kind which even the pundits can enjoy if they only opened their eyes a little wider. Some of the cricket writing has been disappointing, with media men shaking their heads at proceedings, saying it's not the game we know and that a cricket match must have the time to showcase its nuances and strategies. That's still possible, sirs, but in a Test match. As I wrote before, the T20 format will possibly strengthen the Test format at the detriment of the ODI form, as the contrast is sharper and you can get a bit of both worlds in them, but separately. All of this until we someday perhaps tire even of this!
At any rate, the main reason for not watching the India-Aus semi completely was because I had a headache. Surely, this is a valid excuse with most love affairs :-)
Oh, and that other bit. This is not a World Cup. It cannot be 1983, 'cause it's not a World Cup. The ICC don't call it so, that's why. I don't see why it should not have been a World Cup, but then it just isn't. Recall the World Championship of Cricket in 1985, which India won beating Pakistan in the final. That wasn't a World Cup too. (But as a friend remarked, it will be one, like it or not, if India wins!)
Why is it a peeve? Because, like "2000 is the millenium", pedantry is sometimes important. Just because 95% of the world says X is Y, it doesn't have to be, especially if it's the media who, blindly or otherwise, fuel it. Being a quizzer, one learns to respect facts.
All he needs is love
Cricket has always kept the sub-editors at the sports newsdesks happy, with a constant supply of various pun-worthy surnames. South African all-rounder Vernon Philander is no exception. Here's a man who will doubtlessly resurrect stock-in-trade phrases such as "bowling maidens over" and perhaps even be entitled to "getting his leg over".What's more, his initials are "V.D.". All impressively appropriate for a Philander.
Flash news - the World is not Enough (for a Cup)
It seems that the event underway in Zuid Afrika at the moment is NOT a World Cup. I learnt this from the friendly folk at The Googly, from whom I also borrowed the emphatic negation. Before this, the dangling pointer that was the "ICC World Twenty20" did disturb some of my syntactic synapses which wondered worriedly whether a word1 had dropped off the cliff when our backs were turned to it.Apparently, this is not a World Cup, but just a Championship, quite like the ICC Champions Trophy. The Googly says the first T20 WC will happen in England in 2009. Thanks for the warning. I had almost ripped my clothes off in imitation of the dancing boundary-riders, who're functioning on Twenty20 percent clothing coverage. The ICC Marketing men have finally got their act together.
Thumbs up for T20
I'm looking forward to the Twenty20 World Cup. Unlike many voices in the media, I'm not too apprehensive about the likely toll it will have on the other forms. It seems to me that the classical version of the game will benefit from this, at the expense of the ODI format. The wide contrast between the 5-day game and the 2.5 hour gala will ensure both forms survive - you will always get players who are both interested and good at both these cultures of cricket.Perhaps the ODI game, already feeling the heat of hectic tour fixtures, the blot of commercialism, waning spectator interest, and an axe-on-foot World Cup, will suffer the most. The injections of Powerplay and the like haven't helped much. In contrast, the unabashed "viewer-first" upstart can co-exist with the solid uncle who's seen a bit of life.
I also don't think bowlers will be that badly hurt - they'll adapt to the free hits and the swings. A run-rate of 7 to 8 will become par, much as 6 is normal for ODIs today. What's more, I think bowlers will have more of an immediate effect on proceedings if they pick up wickets. Sure, they may not work themselves into a nice rhythm with a spell of 5 overs, but similarly, the batsman has no opportunity to play himself in. In many ODIs, a trishanku score of 225-odd sees the chasing team stumble at the beginning, only to play carefully and see out the 50 overs to win at a walking pace. In T20, the loss of a wicket is likely to steal an over from the batting team, which, given the budget of 120 balls, is a significant blow.
Sambit Bal has shrugged his shoulders and is cautiously optimistic. I'm sticking out my neck more than that!
Am feeling giddy enough to want to attempt some predictions. Ok, my pick for the preliminary round winners are: West Indies, England, New Zealand, and India. I don't know why South Africa end up playing the Windies in the first match of the WC, but the Caribbean men have been their bogey-side. I'm backing Bravo and company. England could put it past the Aussies, given their own experience at home, and the Aussie injury list. It's a toss-up between NZ and SL, but I go for NZ because of their international experience in this form and because SL are missing ol' "Eyes on Springs". India, not for sentimental reasons, but because Pakistan are rocked by their bowlers being involved in internecine warfare. Dhoni, beware of the bats.
Updates:
12 Sept: Damn, already one prediction seems to be blown away. Still, Gayle almost made it happen.