Game that mesmerizes me every day

Yes. It has been really long since I wrote a blog. Well, the whole week till today was extremely tight. I had absolutely no time to spend time blogging around. I was getting desperate to write something crap, but I felt like being jailed. But,Sandy and RB made amends for my absence.

They wrote the blogs for me :) :)

Truly humbling!!



Now, let me post some of view points on the events that have happened on the cricket field before, events that are getting unwound slowly now and events that would soon unwound.

WHISPERING DEATH

Michael Holding was among the fierce cricketers you can witness on the field. When RB got this dazzling over in his blog, I just imagined how deadly Holding would have been 25 years ago. Holding was something special. Among a pack of ultra-dangerous bowlers, Holding held his degree of ferocity to a level that I don’t find among many bowlers nowadays. Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Colin Croft formed a pack that would never say die anytime. West Indies would repudiate conquest for the opposition when these four are in full flow. Holding, according to me was the best. Holding had one of the best bowling actions you could ever see. Long strides, silky run up and a very cool follow through made Michael Holding. His entire pace was engendered from his very long run up. If Shoaib does it nowadays, Holding did it even more efficiently then.

Yesterday, I got a chance to see the video of that unparalleled over that RB posted. Do check here. It will not work @ office. May be you can watch this at your home. Also available in You Tube – Search for :- “Holding to Boycott”.

Those six balls were just out of the world. The crowd was completely behind and whatever footage we get to see, we only see a very tiny object whiz past Boycs every time around. He was lucky to survive the first ball of that over. But, the last ball was just too good for even the likes of Bradman. No wonder he is called “whispering death”.

WHITE LIGHTNING

If people say, Holding was too good in that over, Donald was fumingly furious during those 45 minutes at Trent bridge in 1998. Star cricket showed that video footage yesterday. Rough decisions, not one but two against Donald did not go well with him. What followed was, the best cricket White Lightning has ever played. Well, that’s what he believes. South Africa went on to lose the test match, but those 10 overs that Atherton played were of the top draw. Edges were dropped; Hussain could have well walked back, leaving Atherton in the middle. A hugely resolute Atherton played exceedingly well to just survive. I must say, Steve Dunne helped him time and again that session alone. If South Africa got a chance to refer to the TV Umpire, Atherton would have been back and we wouldn’t have seen such a spectacular display of fast bowling. Atherton must have had lots of ice packs, pain relieving sprays and anti-inflammatory capsules that night. He received a barrage of bouncers that he took head on!!!

Donald says, “He (Michael) is playing very well at the moment and it only takes one ball. The eight or nine over spell at Trent Bridge was bowled with the adrenaline pumping and it was the fastest that I have bowled consistently in any one spell. The pace that I was bowling at never really bothers me; if it happens on the day then it happens. The speed gun has never been foremost in my mind. There is more to bowling than breaking speed records.”

Keith Lane in his article writes, “A nine over spell between Alan and Michael at Trent Bridge, regarded by some in the know as one of the best bit of test cricket ever, where a suspected glove to Boucher from a short ball sparked off one of the most ferocious fast bowling and one of the most resolute batting displays ever seen in the test arena.”

Nick Hoult's blog in Telegraph gives an even more closer view to that brilliant spell of magic.

Donald is still the most fearsome bowler, I have seen LIVE. Brett Lee has been in that bracket alongside Simon Jones, Shane Bond and Dale Steyn. But, Donald was different. When I started following cricket, I never saw as fast as white lightning. Donald was the best fast bowler in picture for me. Mcgrath, Walsh and Ambrose were of different school of fast bowling.

FAB FOUR

As I write, India is now getting into self-destruction mode. Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Gambhir are back to pavilion within minutes after play resumed.

I was just about to write, how India have got into a great position after the first session @ Galle.Galle is the epitome of struggle, loss and the rise. The very picture of the tsunami hit Galle , sends down shivers across my spine. The way it has got itself resurrected back, should inspire the Indians. Sehwag and Gambhir took India to a great position, and I reckon destiny is taking India somewhere else. Rain interrupted proceedings and concentration was diluted. That happens every time rain is on. Viru is stranded in the middle with Laxman. It is very tough to regain the concentration back in the game, after a long halt. You would be picking up the cricket ball like a foot ball, and all of a sudden the same cricket ball, looks like a ping-pong ball. That’s what concentration does to a batsman.

Team India look like the troubled state of Gujarat now. They really don’t know when Mendis-Murali duo would blast their next bomb in the form of Indian wickets. Usually, India build their innings really well after a 100 run opening stand. Rahul Dravid was a key figure to take the innings on from a great position that the openers would have left. Dravid’s career has gone into the final chapter. England 2007 was the beginning of the end. 12(96) @ Oval summarized his performance in England . Dravid usually is at his brilliant best in England . Tours to England in 1996 and 2002 fetched him loads and loads of runs. Sadly, the same country where he started his test career has marked the dawn of his dusk. 2, 9, 37, 11*, 55 and 12 are Dravid’s scores in England . Dravid has scored just 4 fifties and one hundred in the last year. 15 test matches and 28 innings have just fetched 758 runs from the wall. There is a big dip in his average and strike rate also. 54.13 is his career average and in the last 12 months, Dravid averages a mere 31.58. His strike rate has also gone down from 41.92 to 35.99. To say the least, Dravid looks most probable to retire first among the Fab Four. Dravid has been a brilliant servant of Indian cricket and no one is going to take credit from him. He must be really privileged to be a part of that golden era. Sooner than later, we would have to search the next No.3 batsman for India . Rohit Sharma is a definite prospect. Subramaniam Badrinath and Shikhar Dhawan are also seasoned campaigners. But, to fill Dravid’s boots is going to be a titanic task.

How many times, will Laxman save India ? VVS must be really tired of this. And the position he is in, VVS would score a 50 and the team on the other side would disintegrate. Dinesh Karthik has got his last chance. These five days will redefine his career. His performance is also very important in the team’s perspective. If India ought to win this test match @ Galle , Karthik must contribute with the bat and behind the stumps. With four wickets tumbling in quick succession, Karthik’s innings becomes even more significant. I am really happy with the team management. They have not chip-chopped with the team. Karthik has been given one more chance and if he does well, Kumble and the think tank can be proud (even more if India wins as DK performs) of their selection. But, if it back-fires, DK would be betraying a lot of his team mates.

Who would want to be in DK position? Certainly, not me!!!

Ganguly, right now, is resting on his past performances. He has just completed a year of wonderful cricket. From South Africa in 2006 to South Africa in 2008, Dada has been scoring runs at a prolific rate. If Ganguly doesn’t wake up from his sleep, he would find himself out of reckoning for the longer version of the game also. Yuvraj Singh, Badrinath, Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are waiting in the wings.

IN PIPELINE....

The days gone by has been sweet to some and sour to others. I just hope Kumble and his warriors break the Murali jinx that they face in the island nation. South Africa has been really wonderful in England post Lords' test. If they emulate India 's record, Michael Vaughan would have lost two home series in as many years. McKenzie is slowly getting into the groove again.

WHAT'S HAPPENING FROM MY SIDE???

Two days of skills practice has been wonderful for me. During my spells in the nets Arun nicked twice and was bowled once off my bowling. Arun doesnt usually play that flashy. But, yes. On more than occasion, the ball swung severely and he had to just leave it alone. I was happy about my bowling on Tuesday. Yesterday was even better. Bharath was bowled twice, one that moved slightly in and the other delivery was bowled at a very slow pace, that he mis-judged the pace of the ball. Saurabh was also beaten on more than one occassion.

If there was one batsman who played me authoritatively, then it was only William. He treated my bowling with utmost disdain.

Tonked over and over again !!!

Hoping to bowl better at him today.