Opinions On... Saurav Ganguly

His debut Test innings at Lords, where he scored a century was a comeback...sort of. He was clearly out of depth in that one ODI he played for India in Australia 4 years earlier. It was said that he refused to carry drinks and from what people could see on TV, could not bat nor run between the wickets.

He just didn't seem to belong.

If he would have been discarded for good, we wouldn't even have noticed it. But he persisted and 19 years later playing in his 4th IPL season he played an innings for Pune Warriors that had all the buzz of a debut.

That is Saurav Ganguly for you....

Fake News Round up

IPL games - they are all the same
Yesterday in a game between 2 IPL team, the production company faced with a staff on a total strike, decided to telecast a replay of a previous game; originally held a little less than a week back;  between the same two sides instead. According to the TVR ratings approximately 22 million viewers consumed the replays thinking it was a live event.

This was 5% higher than the ratings registered by the same match when it was originally telecast. 

Well into the game when absolutely no one had realized that they were watching a T20 game from just a week back, the production company thought that they had almost pulled off the heist. However, with a few overs still remaining in the game, executives at Sony got a call from Danny Morrison, claiming something was fishy.

I can't possibly be covering a live event when I am having a Viagara moment of intimacy at home; he thundered excitedly on the phone. 

Specialized captains

The ECB became the first board in the world to recognize that the various formats of the game represents the need to cultivate specialized skills, leadership and management techniques. What does not work for Tests may not necessarily not work for ODIs and whatever fails for ODIs may need some more specializing for T20s. 

In line with this thinking England named an army of captains to align each person to the specialized needs of the various formats, sessions, and match situations

1. Andrew Strauss will lead England in tests for the pre-lunch and post-tea sessions on days 2 and 4 of a test match
2. Kevin Pietersen will be captain on all other days; except when the match situation requires declaration decisions, in which case Alastair Cook will take over.
3. Stuart Broad will be T20 captain for all games when England is not setting a target
4. Paul Collingwood will be T20 captain for all games when England is setting a target 
5. Alastair Cook will be captain of the ODI team for all sessions and situations except during Ashes years when James Anderson will take over when Cook will be rested.

Dial 'C' for Clean Cricket

Sports Illustrated - Timbaktoo in a cover story for an issue that will be out on the stands on May 14th claims that cricket may be far cleaner than people think. The story is based on 4000 minutes of taped conversations between fans, commentators, ex and current cricketers, bookies, politicians corporate executives and celebrities. The conversations where people talk endlessly about the excitement of coming World Cup games and predict outcomes and specific individual performances is proof that there is no match fixing because 9 out of the 10 predictions never come true. 

The 1 in 10 that do are being investigated by Sports Illustrated - India. 

Blonde Power

Remind me again. How did they get from here...

Captains of England and Australia - The way they used to be

to here....

The Pretty Men of England and Australia

Are they sleeping their way to the top? What else should we conclude? I mean Stuart Broad just became the first cricketer in the world do be appointed captain of an International Team after having conceded 6 sixes in an over. Now he is good enough to captain his country?

How?

Why?

Come on ECB selectors, is he that good in bed?

Its like England looked long and hard into the future and picked the best man who will not win them a World Cup

Announcing Australia's tour of South Africa

Cricket South Africa and Cricket Australia, today held a joint press conference; to announce the itinerary for Australia's full tour of South Africa. A rivalry running over a 100 years of Test Cricket always draws attention.

We bring you the details of the announcement...

Five Rebuilding Tips

Several teams have gone into rebuild mode. A lot of commentary has surfaced about what's wrong with the rebuild process. The big emphasis on team discipline starts at the onset of rebuilding. Administrators and selectors take center stage and begin setting new foundations for the future. Usually, veteran players get the axe and a lot of unpleasantness comes to the fore. Here are some tips to the rebuilders.