Sportsnob – Critics Corner

This will not be a post completely on the inept batting of the Pakistanis or the absolute lack of bite in their bowling attack. As was already mentioned, Gul and Sami strike as much fear in the hearts of the oppostion batsmen as Brer rabbit fears the briar patch and the Pakistani batsmen barring a couple, have no patience or technique to last on an Old Trafford pitch that was pacy and had bounce. Any bowler who could bowl a good line and length, was effective but my guess is, even I might have been effective given the batting skills on display. Harmison found the pitch to his liking and Panesar, the comical sardar, extracted turn and the bounce had the Pakistani batsmen top-edging the sweep shots that were attempted every ball.

The player who impressed me in the first over he bowled was Shahid Mahmood (and yes, he plays for England). The first ball was beautifully bowled. Upright seam, ball moving away in the air, bouncing on the seam and moving away off the wicket. Mohammed Yousuf was caught weaving mightily and wondering where the ball went. The second one, bounced on the seam, jagged back inwards and cut the batsman in half, passing between bat and body, over the stumps. Ball three kept low. Ball four, was the pick of the lot… rearing up off a good-length and the batsman was fending awkwardly. Mohammed Yousuf was inspecting the pitch and hoping that he had enough in him for more such hops. A wonderful first over and I was licking my lips in anticipation of a good battle between a young pace bowler and two classy batsmen.

The second over had a half volley driven between mid-off and cover, and India’s nemesis, Younis Khan was showing this youngster that test cricket is more than one good over. The next over saw two exquisite shots, a square cut and a brilliantly struck cover drive, both off the wide-as-The Great Wall bat of Mohammed Yousuf, putting the youngster in his place. He did have a chance grassed off his bowling but, he is going to have to learn to bowl a consistent line and length if he wants play at this level. He seems to have the ability to move the ball off the seam both ways and bowls at a brisk pace. He touched 90 mph, I think. I like what I saw of him today but then we have seen so many of these talented players lose their way: L.Sivaramakrishnan (a post some day on whether he is the best leg-spinner I might have seen operate), Ajit Agarkar in tests, Dominic Cork, Saqlain Mushtaq, Lance Klusener’s bowling.

This test will probably be England’s unless the Pakistanis recover some talent that they may have left behind at some countryside lodge.

Goldsborough 2nd XI knew they were in for a tough match against Dishforth- leaders of the fourth division in the North Yorkshire Nidderdale league (4th division in North Yorkshire? that league has EIGHT divisions!) but after 12 overs, the scoreboard read 5 for 10 – with the 5 runs coming from 4 byes and one leg bye.

Thats right, not one batsman managed to score a run! The funny thing is that every single batsman got out caught, all of them did put bat on ball.

The appeals court has declared a verdict in the Calcio poli scandal. Lazio and Fiorentina have been reinstated to the serie A. Juve’s appeal was turned down but they have been handed a reduced penalty for their upcoming season in the Serie B. They will need to overcome a deficit of 17 points as opposed to the original penalty of 30 points.

The other big news is the Milan have been handed a reprieve. They will be allowed to participate in the Champions League next year. They will , however, have to come through qualifying stages. They had secured direct qualification to the CL by virtue of their second place in the Serie A but that was before the scandal was brought to light. This rehashed verdict will certainly clear the air for many of their stars who were considering other options at the prospect of not playing in the lucrative Champions League. Now, Milan will work to tie up the contracts of their unsettled stars and also make a few additions to their squad which has been weakened by the departures of Andriy Shevchenko and Rui Costa.
Check out the full story at Soccernet.

I have been a huge fan of the Dravid-Chappell partnership and what they have done for the Indian Cricket team. The way they have molded a young talented squad into a serious contender for the World Cup next year has been remarkable. Yes, there have been some potholes on the way- most notably the Ganguly saga and the failure to beat Pakistan and England in the test series.One issue that continues to baffle me is Kumble’s continued absence from the squad. I cannot think of a better bowler than Kumble to be brought on when somebody like Gilchrist or a Pietersen is blazing away to glory. He is India’s best bowler and he has been doing very well of late. Plus, he has a great record in one day internationals.

I simply cannot understand how Kumble is being kept out of the squad by somebody like Powar. The talk is that Kumble is being held back because of his fielding. How do they justify Powar’s inclusion then? And Powar is no great champ with the bat either. Yes, I love the guy’s enthusiasm and his spirit but those are no reasons to find a place in the team! The Indian team has two good off-spinners in Harbhajan and Sehwag anyway. A third makes no sense.

Bring him back please! Give him a good run during the champions trophy. And get him on that plane to the West Indies and get him on the pitch. Otherwise, we might do another Argentina. (Remember when they had guys like Messi and Riquelme on the bench and ended up losing to Germany? No? Where were you earlier this month?!)

The challenge

The biggest challenge for Dravid and Chappell is going to be to decide the balance of the line up. Do they go with 5 batsman and Dhoni at Six and Pathan at 7? Or do they go in with the extra batsman in Raina and rotate the final ten overs between Sehwag, Yuvraj and Tendulkar? I hope we get this sorted out quickly and play our best team till the World Cup. Cricket is more a game of skill than tactics and giving away your plans does not matter as much as in say football.

This is probably our best chance of winning the world cup. The only teams I see mounting a challenge are Australia and Pakistan. But I think we can get past them. We don’t seem to have the morbid fear of Pakistan anymore. Beating Australia might be tough but I think we will nick it. England and West Indies have been poor. South Africa and New Zealand won’t go far. The Sri Lankans might do well but that depends on how their batting clicks and how the other teams play Muralitharan.This is probably our best chance of winning the World Cup and my gut instinct is that we are going to do it.

Z

As I write this post, Inzamam and Razzaq are batting to save the game for Pakistan. They will, in all likelihood save this game. The match has seen some terrible bowling from both sides and some magnificent batting especially from Mohammed Yousuf (Yousuf Youhana). I have had immense respect for some of the talent that pakistan has produced over the years: Akram, Younis, Inzamam, Saeed Anwar etc. But, this current team doesn’t seem to have the youngsters who are stepping up and performing to potential let alone filling the shoes of some of these players.

Pakistan hasn’t lost a test series in England in a long time, 24 years I think. And during this period, there have been some brilliant individual and team performances.

In 1992, the limeys were mesmerised by the pace at which the Pakistanis sent down their curling, lethal toe-crushers. Akram, the greatest left arm bowler of all time.(?)(probably one of the greatest pace bowlers of the modern era) and Waqar Younis, one of the bowlers who I believe could have done greater things in his career if only health had permitted (if only is such a cruel thing especially in sport). The ball-tampering allegations not withstanding, it was probably the greatest exposition of fast bowling seen in England in the 1990s. Pakistan wins the series 2-1.

The 1996 tour belonged to two men: the wily leg-spinner who suddenly vanished from the international scene, Mustaq Ahmed and one of the best batsmen of our generation, the lazy and classy Inzamam-ul-Haq. Inzie wasn’t the highest runmaker but the skill and determination that he displayed at No. 4, had the Englishmen longing to have a go at the brick wall near the dressing room. The English have never been very good players of quality spin bowling. It was in 1996, that I saw the best of Mushtaq Ahmed. The chubby exterior hid the guile and the tricks up his sleeve. To this day, I havent’t seen a leg spinner turn the googly more. The flight, the length, the turn, the line, the rhythm all in place, Mushtaq was among the top spinners in the world along with Warne and Kumble in 1996. These two were ably supported by Saeed-shocking beard-Anwar and Ijaz-I suprisngly score international runs-Ahmed. Pakistan won the series 2-0, beating Alec Stewart!

The next tour in 2001, saw Inzamam at his very best. Inzie and Graham Thorpe outclassed all other batsmen in both teams. Pakistan’s bowling attack was ageing, and an aged Waqar Younis and the wily, street-smart doosra bowler Saqlain-where has he gone-Mushtaq, carried the Pakistani attack with Akram not at his usual peak. Series drawn 1-1.

Admittedly, the period from ‘92 till about 2000, saw England play some of its worst test cricket. But then, this Pakistani bunch played exceptional crciket and there were some outstanding cricketers. The Pakistanis, now seem to be finding it harder to uncover their pace bowling talent with the same unfailing regularity of the past. Sami and Gul are good bowlers but I don’t think they’ll strike terror in the hearts of any opposition. Pakistan might still win the series or manage not to lose it, primarily owing to Inzie and the other classy, stylish middle-order batsman, Mohammed Yousuf. Also, Endland shouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating the skills of Razzaq and Shahid-always 21- Afridi. Considering the strengt of England’s bowling attack for the series, Inzie and Youhana are going to have a whole lot of fun in their final series in England.

But then, what is happening to the younger players in the Pakistani ranks: they are not performing consistently and many are found lacking in skill and temperament. Will there be more Akrams and Inzies or atleast Razzaqs and Ijazs?… for the sake of cricket, I hope so.

PS: I thank Cricinfo profusely for all the help with this post.

- Prof

Well, You can say they had it coming. Juventus have been relegated to the Serie B. Joining the unscrupulous cunts are Fiorentina and Lazio. Milan on the other hand have escaped demotion but have to contend with a 15 point deduction for the upcoming season and go without participation in the lucrative Champions League. However, they are confident of taking part in the less pretigious Uefa cup owing to Empoli’s lapse in registering for the Uefa tournament. How fortune favors the rich?! I really hope that this does not happen. The penalty given to these Italian teams does take a bit of sheen from the European tournaments but it was warranted, given the enormity of their offences. We were all lead to believe that Milan were as guilty as Fiorentina and Lazio, but obviously these two clubs don’t have a poltical kingpin to back them. The entire scandal was storm in a teacup for the vain Berlusconi, who is no stranger to controversy. The comparitively lenient verdict will also see them benefit in the Transfer market. Italians are known to be very insular and most of the juve bunch will prefer to move to rivals Milan rather than test waters abroad. I was hoping Barca would benefit from the fiasco, Zambrotta or Thuram would do wonders at the back for us. Its still possible but at the moment its either Real Madrid or Milan for these fallen heroes.

In other news, Ashley ’swings both ways’ Cole still hasn’t decided what he wants to do. Its so typical of him to waver but by blackballing Wenger he might just have signed his transfer form. His wedding to Tweedy isn’t far away and the poor man’s Becks and Posh might feel that a move to a more glamorous club will do their bank balances a world of good.

I’m waiting for the transfer market to explode. It will sometime, right now its just the calm before the storm.

Tomorrow Z will post a quiz for the buzz starved folk.

V

It’s been more than a day without soccer and it’s getting very painful. Have been experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms and I am desperately hoping to see off this month and then I would have club football to devour. Until then, We have to life off the transfer rumors and the calciopoli scandal. EPL will kick off mid August . A few weeks after that we will have Barcelona defend their la liga title against a ‘work in progress’ Real Madrid and a promising Valencia team.

Also Serie A will have a new look when it starts in September. Even in their good years, Serie A never drew the crowds but with the ongoing mess, I doubt if anyone barring Inter Milan will be looking forward to the next season.

The scandal hasn’t stopped Juve from making a foray into the transfer market with ex Chelsea pot head Adrian Mutu moving to Fiorentina for 5.5 Million Pounds and Valeri Bojinov moving in the opposite direction. The Bulgarian Bojinov, considered to be the biggest name in Bulgarian soccer after Hristo Stoichkov has failed to meet expectations at Fiorentina who had signed him for 9 milion quid a year ago.

In spain, Real Madrid Prez Calderon has insisted that Cesc, Kaka and Ruud are on their way. They seem to have cooled their interest in Robben, presumably they are not convinced by his age. 22??? are u kidding me….

Christiano Ronaldo, the scourge of the English is pleading to the Spanish giants(that’s Barca and Real to all you Valenciafans) to get him. Capello maybe the only person who can set this fellow straight. CR7 is possibly the most frustrating player in the world. Has the talent but Stepovers close to his corner flag and clearances for shots would annoy even Buddha…….Fab Cap has a lot of work to do. Unlikely CR will get a move to Barcelona with Rjkaard already having Leo Messi and Giuly in that Right wing postion. And Rjkaard will be wary of the Portuguese , having already had an uneasy relationship with a show pony in Ricardo Quaresma. Can u believe that the prick asked Laporta to choose between him and Rjkaard at the end of the 2004 season?

In england, Frank Ribery feels that he will prosper in the Arsenal setup. I think he is a very good player and who better to manage him than Arsene Wenger. Wenger is busy searching for replacements for the departing Sol Campbell(undecided) , Robert Pires(Villareal) and Bergkamp(retiring). He is also said to be bidding for Buffon, who prefers a move to Milan

A lot of developments on the Zidane headbutt and on how le bleu bleu it .. i wont go into the details. You could check it out at Sporting Life

Cheerio,

V

Its 4 am and I cant sleep. I just witnessed a quite extraordinary world cup final which will forever be remembered as much for the penalty shootout as for a moment of lunacy from Zinedine Zidane. Hero for large parts of the game, never showing his age and kept even the famed italian defence guessing. Masterly and gutsy in the taking of a penalty. Not one player in the world would have the audacity to chip a penalty in a World Cup final. I could see the headlines. It was a script written in heaven. The penalty stemmed from the confidence in himself and also the belief that he could do no wrong. Some might use the word arrogance but then its Zidane, and he probably can deserve to be a little impudent. But that is where it ends. Being a great also gives you the burden of carrying the name and protecting your legacy, Im sorry Zizou you failed there. It was two seconds of his life that will probably flash across his mind forever. Im sure the world gasped when they saw the replay. He had issues with temper when he was at Turin. He would snap at the slightest of provocation. But surely they were in the past. This Zidane had matured and he was in his realm…..the greatest show on earth.

Im sure he regrets the incident, but no matter how grave the provocation, it was avoidable. He was up against a cunty and crappy defender in the irritant Materazi who would have been caught out several times if it werent for his better abled captain Fabio Cannavaro. but zidane took the bait that the wily italian had offered and he paid the ultimate price….. It was an ignominious way to end a career and the walk of shame compounded it. He could have found solace if Le bleu had a little more luck in the penalty shootout. But in keeping with the cruel nature of the game, it wasnt to be.

Zidane’s most avid fans would say that his incident had little bearing on the result , but until that moment of madness France had the initiative. the Italians were outplayed in the second half and most of Extra time. Until that moment, the French surely believed that destiny was on their side.

When all the prematch hype was about how the Magician from Marseille could leave a lasting impression, I never imagined it would be this way. I hope history remembers him for all the hours of jaw dropping football he had offered. The roulettes and the shimmies, the long range thunderbolts and the dipping freekicks. But history is never that kind.

V

What do you say about a man who has won his last 47 grass court matches, 4 consecutive Wimbledon tournaments, lost 4 matches this year and has won 3 of the last 4 Grand Slam tournaments? You just appreciate a master at work! Federer is an artiste, he could very well be playing the piano on Centre court. The thing that amazes me about Federer is his ability to play almost any shot in the book, hit any ball to any part of the court and more importantly to do this consistently. Today, except for a brief period in the third set, he never looked ruffled. I don’t think he even considers losing at Wimbledon a realistic possibility (the jacket he wore onto the court actually has his initials set in a Wimbledon trophy pattern!!!). Set 1 was a display of such scintillating tennis. Blanking a player like Nadal is no mean feat. The serve was in place today: the big serve fired whenever required, the backhand slice working well: keeping the ball low to Nadal’s backhand unlike the flatter cross-court that he plays, the volleying was exceptional and a flawless performance except for the brief period of lapse in concentration in the tie-breaker in set 3. This was top quality grasscourt tennis. Almost the finest seen in ten years but only almost…

While it is not fair to compare Sampras and Federer, the comparison is inevitable. Sampras was, in my opinion, a player with more heart and a better serve. Federer is more style but I have never seen him display the kind of fighting spirit that Sampras used to display ever so often. He never dons the workman’s clothes and dirties his hands to get the job done. He hasn’t required it too often though! If I want someone to play for my life on grass, I’d pick Sampras I guess but I would travel miles to watch Federer play.

What do you do when you are in the presence of such sublime skill and genius: appreciate, applaud, shake your head in disbelief and lose all hope of competing. But then Nadal is no easy opponent. There is a reason why Federer doesn’t quite enjoy playing this man. No one else could have taken these many points off Federer in such form. No one else has beaten Federer in a long time: Oh and btw not all of these victories on clay! The guy is 20, has the muscles of a body builder and the retrieving capabilities that would put Michael Chang to shame. He keeps coming at you, making you play that extra shot, run those few extra yards and he does this every point. He has a solid game and with the Wimbledon grass becoming quite similar in nature to certain other tournament surfaces, work on his volley is bound to make him a serious contender for the Wimbledon crown in years to come. This man is no one surface wonder and the best of his tennis is yet to come. Federer has competition, competition that he doesn’t like: the forehand of Nadal going cross-court to his backhand, the extra power and kick serves. Nadal is an intelligent player and we are bound to see more contests between these men in the future and let’s hope we get to see some good tennis between these guys. Nadal will grow in stature and become a better player….

… but at this point it is still King Federer. The king is back… step back all ye pretenders!

Prof

Well, I am sorry if the title is derogatory but those aren’t my words, those are of Martina Hingis (who had observed this about Mauresmo way back in 1999) Like many a intelligent celebrity, Hingis went on to deny the statement in-spite of being caught on tape.

But I digress; Mauresmo’s victory over Henin-Hardenne makes her the first French woman to win Wimbledon in 81 years. More important, it finally puts to rest all the doubts about her ability to beat her nerves. The eternal bridesmaid at the grandslams, she has made innumerable Semifinals , usually losing to the eventual champion. Her first grandslam came at this years Australian Open after her opponent in the final (Henin again) defaulted due to injury.

But the reason I am blogging about Mauresmo is that she is probably the only successful (publicly) homosexual sportsperson in action (discounting Navratilova). I cannot think of too many other homosexual players from the past either. Coming out of the closet at the age of 19 in the same 1999 Australian Open must have been tough, considering the fact that Navratilova herself never received sponsorship and endorsement commensurate with her status till she retired.

Anyway, the fact is that we will NEVER probably see a footballer or a Basketball superstar coming out of the closet. Something about the whole concept of naked men in showers and physical contact with gay men is set to make many a man uncomfortable. Rugby is worse, thirty sweaty men jumping on top of each other and also the scrum!
Will be interesting to see what happens if a Ronaldinho or a Kaka comes out of the closet.

Zarquon

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I watched portions of the match and honestly, Mauresmo showed no hint of nerves and seems a highly improved and strong player. In the final set, she was hitting such fine first serves. Not too many variations but when you hit them wide enough to get the opponent off-court, you don’t need variations!

And Henin, she fought all the way. The woman with the best backhand ever. She threw all she had at “Half Man”, her ripping backhand cross-courts and a really strong forehand – strengthened to counter the Williams sisters (Reminder: Post on how the Williams sisters changed women’s tennis).Â

Well Played Amelie, a well-deserved victory.

Prof