Getting off the mark......

.... opening your account with that nudge down to fine-leg or guiding one down to third man to get your first runs must be one hell of a cathartic experience. I realize that now as this is my attempt to open my account on Island Express. Well! my credentials are modest.The closest I have been to a live cricket match is when the Cricinfo's ball-by-ball commentator decided to publish a quaint little piece of trivia I mailed back. Evidently my cricket expertise, just like 99% of the cricket experts in the country does not go beyond the "couch-potato"-esque . However, the love for the game has only grown exponentially since I chanced upon the grainy pictures of Doordarsan showing men in white clothes playing for India some time in the late '80s.

This is probably the worst time to make a post about cricket. Ashes 09 is turning out to be as interesting as this and the Sky Sports commentary team is sleep-talking through it. Mercurial Pakistan are living up to their name in the Emerald Isle gifting 18 wickets to Sri-Lankan bowlers whose names don't start with M, which is only marginally better than getting timed out. West Indies is playing Bangladesh with a team comprising of local school-children and the first five ticket holders to arrive at the ground yesterday. And with the most popular team on the planet in hibernation mode for the next couple of months with their slumber to be disturbed only by the odd IndiaTV or AajTak reporter trying to hook them up with a Bollywood starlet, there is something amiss in international cricket at the moment.

I don't know how many of you feel this way, but is there a dearth of genius International Cricket at this moment as compared to say 8-10 years back ? Have we found replacements for the Akrams, the Laras, the Waughs, the Ambroses, the Walshes? We have a Federer in Tennis, a Cristiano Ronaldo in football, a Bolt in Athletics, a Lebron in Basketball, a Woods in Golf , all of whom are taking their sport to the next level. Does cricket have someone like that? I will try to answer that in the next post.

No balls killed the Scottish stars

Oh, and Jesse Jaisi Koi Nahin.

The Dutch are coming!

Who will stop them? This guy?

Dhoni <3 Pak

Dhoni's ODI record is impressive and his love for the Pakistani bowling is well known. His deadly average (helped by god-knows-how-many not outs) climbs to a Bevanesque 57.31. That his batting is as Bevanesquely ugly is hence no surprise. Even his by-no-means-pretty Test average shoots up almost 30 runs to settle at a Husseyesque 64.60. Yuck. Well Indo-Pak matches of the last 5 years have had their share of placid tracks too, but then there is that counterattacking 150 that is still so fresh in memory. So fresh that those hooks are like an Aircel CD of love songs. Feat. Shoaib Malik with shaved armits running slomo through fields of Punju wheat. And is that Younis Khan chasing them with a double barrelled one?

So what is it about Pakistan then that brings out the best in Dhoni? Its only in the two T20s that he has played against Pakistan, that his average against Pakistan falls below his career average. 19.5 down from 23.88. Screw that, because he captained India to a World Cup final victory against them.

The IPL might have just given a hint of what would happen when the Dhoni joojoo wears off. If it did, then he could not have asked for better warm-up.

O teri to!!

Taking note of the thaw in Indo-Pak relations since 26/11, the need for a warm-up was widely recognised. Cricket took the hint and scheduled one. Well, so did the bloggers. On either side.

A Bored Quickie, darlings. See you there.

Married and bored

My new post is up on Bored. Love cricket? Love your wife too?

Small gloat

Yes, I called one half of the IPL final right, and I was one step away from calling both. So here's showing the finger to the rest of Bored .

Elsewhere: 

Do join us for a Bored Quickie during the IPL finals.

Read about Matty Hayden's conversations with Jesus.

The Tantrum - an Update

So some civil court in Lahore has passed an order in the case filed by the PCB. For more read here. Can someone please explain to me what this means - what does not being able to move the World Cup Secretariat mean??

How long does the court of arbitration for sport usually take to resolve a dipute? The good news as a lawyer is that we get to learn something about other law firms - Vellani and Vellani - I wonder what they charge!

Its Fixed!

Let me again express the thought that I expressed sometime ago on this blog - taking a side is obviously a dangerous thing for it exposes you to immense criticism and personal attack when someone who disagrees with you gets an opportunity. We are ofcourse talking about Rohit Sharma (the 'cricketer' on the one hand and the legal luminary on the other).

Disclaimer first - I did not want to write this post, I was asked to (and I am rushed).

On Saturday evening, I once again found my faith, for a mircale transpired. The 'talented Mr. Sharma' was able to despatch the brawn of bangladesh for 26 runs in the last over of yet another pulsating encounter (are these games fixed or what?). Mortaza who had bowled only yorkers in the previous overs was able to bowl only knee high full tosses or short balls (again, are these games fixed or what - there must have been pretty long odds on DC getting those runs). I was forced to face uncomfortable facts - of his talent, his fitness, his calmness under pressure and his right to play at this level.

Then he dug the dagger in deeper - against Punjab, he almost did it again!! Fortunately, in that one ball on which we went for the most ungainly slog that a top order batsmen can play, he gave me some reasons for why the first instance was nothing but a miracle. Here they are:

1. They needed 4 of 4 - the slog was totally unnecessary - not so calm after all.
2. I have never seen an international cricketer struggle for breath like he was yesterday. Was 2 back to back games (still less than a ODI) too much for the MAN??
3. The odds on him getting 4 of 4 must have been pretty good and therefore against him getting those runs pretty bad. Interesting that.

On the other hand credit where its due. He did hit full tosses out of the park - couldnt have been that simple!