South Africa Match Report #1: West Indies (Yesterday someone bowled a googly)

The World cup has finally come alive.

Yes there was Sachin, Tamim, Afridi, Ponting, Steyn, Gayle, Pollard, Pietersen the opener and all the other big names. Yet the big entertainment was coming from broken TVs, Sehwag's straight faced, matter of fact bravado in speech, and the "we-want-to-win-the-world-cup-for-our-dog" comments.


But yesterday someone bowled a googly. And the batsman was made to look like he did not belong.

A good yorker forces the batsman to fend for his legs and his wicket in equal measure. A good bouncer - the old fashioned one; not the slow, loopy one that meanders towards the keepers ankles, rambling along the way like Gaddafi's speech -  forces the batsman to pause (not for too long, mind you) and show respect. A beamer - there are no "good" beamers - can briefly induce the fear of death in the batsman's eyes. A good out-swinger is a tantalizing sight. A good in-swinger is like a rude shock.

But a googly, is something else. It exposes the batsman in a holistic sort of a way. Its like a story with a nasty twist; in spite of generous sprinkling of clues all over the plot. Its like a mind bender for the common man, without intellectual compromises. It defeats the batsman not with force, speed or even guile but in mind and thought. A good googly hurts a man's ego. The battle between a batsman and a leg spinner is not your traditional question-answer session, the way Richard Hadlee explains...Its a debate.

This World Cup needed Imran Tahir.