Saviour Shiv !

It so happens that in a team like India, where there is a Sachin Tendulkar - there is a need of a certain Rahul Dravid. The Windies aren't too far behind on this count. There is invariably a member of the team who demands limelight from the media but there is also someone who does things in a very sound, efficient and emotionless manner and yet contributes to the team's success. One such cricketer that comes to mind is Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who has saved the Windies from not one, not two, but many a humiliation. A phrase comes to mind, that best suits Shiv - "Cometh the hour, Cometh the man".

He may not be the best batsman to watch, because of his questionable side-on stance and weird movements in the crease, but at the same time, his batting set-up doesn't in anyway stop him from yielding runs during moments of despair for the Windies. One of the few things that makes his batting look worth watching is his timing - Shiv is perhaps one of the best timers of the ball in modern cricket. This is perhaps why I call him a man who is not perhaps as talented as the others, but turns his limitations into factors of success, something close to a Rahul Dravid. The recent Test against Pakistan, where Shiv played a match-winning role by making invaluable contributions of 92 and 153*, is really a testimony to the fact that Shivnarine is "The Wall of the Windies". He invariably ends up coming in at scores like 26 for 2 or 65 for 3 and a majority of the effort put in rebuilding and consolidation comes from Shiv. His partnerships with Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan have in more occasions than one, won matches for the Windies from positions of sheer defeat. Who can forget his 69-ball century at Guyana against the Aussies in 2003 and also the one at Jamaica (104) in the second innings, which proved historic as the Windies chased down 418 successfully ?. He has also played his part in misfortune unconciously though, where his hundreds have not been duly recognized, mainly because of the teethless and a not-so-potent bowling attack that the Windies have had in recent days. But with a man of many moments like Shivnarine, all we can expect from him is cent per-cent effort. With Shiv in the middle, all one can expect is a calming influence on the dressing room.

Not everyone is a born leader and I may just include Shivnarine in that category. But, that doesn't stop him lead from the front and setting an example for the younger members of the team (he's made 695 from 5 matches @ 115.83). Shirking responsibility is not his cup of tea, and this was best seen recently when West Indies cricket had been going through nothing short of a depression, he accepted the job of a captain gleefully and more so, when the team had virtually no experience. This is Shiv - the responsible man, rather the passionate man - although he does little to reveal it. His captaincy reached a certain maturity level in Barbados, when he marshalled his rather limited resources brilliantly and the field placings also were apt for the situation. He may not be all that expressive, but he in his own way reflects upon what satisfaction all about at the end of the day. West Indies cricket is headed for better days, and with Shiv around either as a captain or even a player, what I can expect from this short-statured yet classy cricketer is nothing short of 100%. It would be great if a senior pro like Shivnarine Chanderpaul just happens to be the man that Windies cricket needed to pull them out of the rot they have been going through since half-a decade.

I have known Shiv and his wife Amy through regular chats - and thats it. In all my years of cricket-watching, I haven't seen someone as passionate as his wife who turns up to have a glimpse of every hundred he scores and invariably the first applause comes from Amy. Perhaps this quite ends up being a tribute to the old adage "Behind a successful man, there's a woman !". And as a friend of this great cricketer, Yes Folks ! I call him great, I would love to see him make runs regularly and meaningfully and if he can motivate the side into a more competitive outfit, I would tend to feel, he's achieved what he set out to.

Many Islands, One Man - The Passion Lives On...

He's a man who has seen it all and also done it all. He's been a batsman over the years, for whom record-breaking is not necessarily the most difficult thing on earth. A man, who exemplifies the passion carribean cricket is all about and can be aptly called "The Sole Voice of the Carribean" in their current era of decline. The man in question is none other than a Brian Charles Lara. Its been nothing short of a visual treat sitting at home and watching some of the innings he's played recently, but unfortunately to no avail.

Brian Lara is just knocking on the doors of yet another record - something ideally he would not like to associate with - "Maximum appearence in lost Test matches". If Pakistan do lose to the Windies in this first test, Lara pips Alec Stewart for this rather unwarrented honour - having involved himself in 54 defeats. But do they in anyway reflect the type of cricket the great man plays ? Yes. West Indies have over the last five years relied too heavily on Brian Lara and this is clearly reflecting in their performances these days. Apart from Lara giving his best with individual scores as bulky as more than 75% of the team score, it only goes to show the levels of responsibility the other batsmen take as compared to him. His recent centuries against South Africa and Pakistan respectively of 176, 196 and 130 (yesterday) have come at situations, from where West Indies could have slipped to shambles. These days, where his rescue acts have restored some respectability in terms of the scores, the ultimate tribute (winning the game) is something that has evaded him and evaded continuously. As for stats, West Indies have lost the last 10 matches, when Lara has played and the only Test they won was against Bangladesh at Kingston, where he scored 120. An unfortunate way to pay respect to the man who has epitomized the spirit of the game in the Carribean.

With age not on his side, Lara's contributions have only gotten meaningful as far as his stats are concerned. Its highly remarkable that a side loses due to its impotent set of bowlers despite the great man mauling the opposition bowlers. His performances during the hay-days of The Walsh-Ambrose partnership had a lot of worth - when West Indies played nothing short of supreme cricket. But, these moments of truth had to come one day. West Indies cricket is going through a trough which in more ways than one will be a Herculian task to recover from. And with Lara's days in International Cricket numbered (mostly till 2007 WC), it will only be the Carribean passion and love for the game that will guide them through to glory (if that can ever happen). Lara has been their saviour, a talisman to his own credit but a man who has seen both aspects of cricket - days of dominance through his performances and currently more days of anguish as he mourns the dormancy and decline that West Indies shows, even if he performs.

To end it all, Lara will of course be considered an all-time Great and rightly deserves to be, but sadly to his credit - West Indies have not been able to pay the right kind of tributes to a large pair of shoes, that can never ever be filled in the future.

His recent knock of 130 was one of the best counter-attacks I have seen since a long time. His 196 also comes close, but the way he took toll of the Pakistani bowling only re-iterates his excellence and greatness and the manner in which he shows no mercy to the bowlers. All I can say with completeness is the fact that while Lara continues to cash in and pull his side from possible and probable collapses, its time for the Windies to realize his importance and play with the spirit the man has been all through his life.

From Boys to Men : The Mental Graduation

As young Mushfiqur Rahim walked out through the member's pavillion at Lord's with his side struggling at 71 for 4, there were moments of introspection and questioning. Goosebumps was all I could feel within, as this brave young man strode out for perhaps his first of many tough days in his cricketing career. A 16-year old all geared up against a pack of English wolves is no mere joke and for all we know he might just be the prey they are waiting for. That is the moment a dream turns into a nightmare, an ambition falls flat. This brings me to my point of contention, something that Bangladesh cricket has always been "priding" about, mistakenly so I feel ! A question that only time can answer for cricket in general, and to be more specific in Bangladesh.

A touring party to England is something that most teams would stack up with more and more experienced players, but the policy in Bangladesh sounds otherwise. From literal schoolboys to should-be graduates, the team bears all. With first class cricket in the lesser nations like Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Kenya not close to what is considered as top-flight, these youngsters are nothing more than a stop-gap arrangement and one eye to the future is not a good enough incentive for these teenagers to perform, as their future depends on that moment. So to speak, Bangladesh could well create a world record for producing the most number of under-20 cricketers in a short span of just under 5 years. But, look at the stats - only Mohammad Ashraful and now Mushfiqur Rahim survive from that huge list. With only 5-6 first class matches under their belt, international cricket may not be easy lessons to grasp for these youngsters. There needs to be more thought when it comes to selection of these players. If I can remember right, Nazmul Hossain played his first One Day (FC) ever against New Zealand in 2004 and Enamul-Haque Jr made his First Class debut in a test match against England - these things have to be sorted out at the earliest for Bangladesh cricket to achieve a certain degree of consistency - both in their game and experience. Mohammad Ashraful, who is talked about in the cricketing circles as the Bangladeshi version of the Little Master, did virtually nothing since that debut century in Sri Lanka, but as 365 days in his life passed on, maturity and experience were the qualities he gained and now is perhaps the best Bangladeshi batsman on show.

Bangladesh and other lesser countries have always harped on their ability to produce talents. But most of these youngsters once dumped from the team, rarely make a comeback into the reckoning again. Take an example of Mohammad Sharif, who made his debut against Zimbabwe in 2000 as a 15-year old, thanks to the ambition of the authorities and today, his comeback seems more than doubtful. Their "A" team consists again of 18-19 year olds who are just about learning the tricks of the trade, and within no time - there is an assurance of a graduation.Its contemplation time for Bangladesh cricket, for their youngsters have nothing been a bait in the rod for the opposition to not only end their innings, but their career and their future in the game. Who knows ? Maybe Mushfiqur Rahim or Shahadat Hossain may just play the innings of their life to prove me wrong, but none can take away the immediate problem of inexperience - in the player and also the selection. Yes, raw talent on display is something the world looks forward to - no two words on that count, but a polished talent always stands out and leaves a mark that can be never erased.

Well - my words of encouragement for young Rahim as he played the Englishmen well today. But something for Ian Botham who has started the comparison bandwagon - Beefy, its too early to even start thinking of comparing Rahim to Sachin !

Reformers of the Game : On and Off the field (Part 1)

What can one say about these mighty Aussies ? Call them the "bad boys" for their effective use of the art of banter, or call them the reformers of modern cricket - the Australians have seen it all and done it all. This very image that the Aussies carry, has in a way contributed to their unparalleled domination of the cricketing scenario in the past decade, but as someone who has been closely monitoring the Australian success over the past few years, its nothing but innovation to the fullest, that has perhaps catapulted their image into one of the best sporting teams in the history of modern sport.

There have been instances in the past few years that have spilled black marks over Australia's cricketing image. Darren Lehmann's "racist" comments over a Sri Lankan player, the infamous spat between Ramnaresh Sarwan and Glenn McGrath and of course the Warnie pill episode had certainly sent a major alarm to Australian cricket, which in the past had its own side of integrity and professionalism. But, not forgetting their past, the cricketers themselves agreed on the Spirit of Cricket, which basically reaffirms the players' commitment to playing the game in the best of competitive spirit. That was it. Since then, the Australians have been in the news for all the right reasons, and kudos to them for ensuring that they ensured and abided by what they set out to do. Images of Adam Gilchrist walking infamously in the semi-finals of the World Cup reiterate the very fact that there is a reason and a realization that the bad-boy tag is momentary, the spirit of the game is permanent. A great degree of stress is being laid on their conduct both within and beyond the boundaries. As far as the cricketing aspect goes, they have set the benchmark for all other teams to follow and added to their outstanding on-the field cricket culture, the Aussies have inculcated and created a standard off the field, that has over the past few months, earned them the respect they deserve.

That was the mental aspect of it.....here's the cricketing one ! So far till date, I had only heard of English Premier League clubs make use of talent scouts and pick the right man for the right duty. But let me assure you one thing, this art of scouting has entered cricket too folks ! Thanks to the Australians. Come June-July 2005, the Ashes beckon, but for the Aussies its been their top agenda since 2003. Their scouts (Aussie players in England) have been on the job all through the English summer for two years and their inputs might as well turn out to be invaluable as they face a recharged English team. What sounds interesting is the fact that for these English counties, performance matters most, and to fulfill this very entity - they hire Aussie first class cricketers, without realizing how disastrous it could be for their national side. Simon Katich has been playing with Hampshire as an overseas pro since last year, and is a confirmed member of the tour party this summer. His skipper at Hants is none other than Shane Warne, and with his eyes firm set on 600 wickets, his bunny could in all probability be Kevin Pietersen, his county team-mate. The role of these players in England doesn't begin and end with helping their counties win titles, but also play a part in the success of the Aussies, whenever they will be around.

The Aussies have also introduced the "Result-Theory" in Test Cricket. Over the past 4 or 5 years, Test cricket has never been as boring as what it is made out to be - yet again thanks to the Aussies. With the Aussies setting the pace in Test matches with a run-rate of 4 to 4.5 runs/over in a day, its not only proved to be an entertainer to the crowds, but in its own way has had a major influence in Australia winning a huge percentage of Test matches by Day 4. The secret behind this quick-scoring is that after the batsmen have put a formidable score on the board (say 500 runs), the bowlers get enough time to pick 20 wickets, which more often than not turns out to be around about 2 days. As experience will also have its say in this, this theory has had its own back-firings (Remember Adelaide 2003 vs India). But with the success ratio higher on the winning side, and teams like India, England and South Africa also making their way into this path, Test cricket might not after all seem boring !

This quite brings an end to Part 1...Part 2 will basically cover topics like Team Management, Administration and Coaching

The Chappelldays have begun

Finally, after a month of deliberations, discussions and brainstorming, India's cricketing guru has been chosen to take over from where John Wright left - Gregory Stephen Chappell. Perhaps it was not a tough choice for the six-man Selection Committee, simply because his name had been echoed by Indian cricket's bigwigs ever since the Indians disembarked from their rather successful tour of Australia. The man who probably changed the tunes of the Aussie media by helping Saurav Ganguly play a knock that would in its own way decide the outcome of the series is now at the helm of India's cricketing affairs. An all time great in his own right, Chappell demonstrated the extent to which an individual could go to compete and more so win, with his rather infamous and controversial "underarm" advice and if anything this desire mixed with determination, discipline and dedication could only auger well for Indian cricket, which has been going through a trough as far as results are concerned.

Off the field, the individual is more known for his coaching acumen. Having a thorough knowledge of the game, Greg Chappell has written books titled "The Makings of Champions" and also has his own cricket coaching website Chappellway. Having coached South Australia to Sheffield Shield glory for the first two years since he was appointed, he realized where he belonged. Chappell, considered to be an acute thinker of the modern game, has finally reached out and more so given his full commitment to Indian cricket for the next two years.

How does Chappell benefit Indian Cricket ? Well for starters, his immense knowledge of the modern game will by itself be an advantage for the team. Secondly, with Chappell being a man of few but meaningful and sharp words, the tough decisions might well be on their way. Thirdly, the visionary that the man himself is, it would only be an inspiration to the entire dressing room to share it with such a great man. Unlike the other contenders, who were only bothered about the 2007 World Cup, Chappell brought out in his own way an insight into the future of Indian cricket dwelling on the long term goals rather than the short and immediate ones. A typical management jargon comes to mind here where the mantra is to "use the short term goals to achieve the long term ones" and if that is what is Chappellway, I feel Indian cricket is in perhaps the safest hands ever.

So come 15th June, India will formally have their new coach and with all that one can read between the lips, Indian cricket is headed for one of its golden era with Greg Chappell's reign. He has his work cut out, but from the early signs we are getting, the man knows what he is doing. His immediate task will be to unite this team, as it comes together after 3 months, which will invariably mean considerable rust which each player might be carrying and make sure that everyone is in both full fitness and good cricketing form before departing for Sri Lanka.

A word of praise for the BCCI (something rare these days) for making a quick and well thought after decision of Chappell's appointment as the national coach. The BCCI must also be lauded for its efforts in getting a high profile candidate for virtually the same price they paid for Wright and also the fact that they are considering to give him with powers that no Indian coach ever got.

At the end of the day, alls well that ends well and one certainly hopes that time evaluates Shri Gregory Stephen Chappellji by both his worth and his deliverance. After all its the transition for the good Indian cricket is making from a Naive New Zealander to a more Aggressive Australian.