The sublime and classy style of batting Part 2

In the first part of my article I mentioned about 3 world class batsmen who have impressed me and a million others with their stylish strokeplay. The world of cricket has seen many such magicians with the bat  over the last 3 decades. I would like  to mention a few more batsman whose style of batting has  impressed one and all.

Brian Lara is one of the greatest batsmen the world has ever seen. He   has scored more than  ten thousand runs in both the forms of cricket scoring over 50 international hundreds but the aspect which has always stood out in his batting is the finesse and the style with which he has scored his runs playing in a  weak team which has lost more matches more than it has won. I still vividly remember the test series against Sri Lanka where he  scored more than 600 runs on spin friendly wickets against murali and co. While   the West Indies lost 3-0 but what stood out was his  quick footwork and his ability to play the ball late on a turning track. It was one of the best exhibitions of batting against high quality spin bowling. Lara has always scored runs at a quick pace and pace and spin   have been treated with equal disdain. His fierce square cut and elegant cover drives with the perfect sense of timing have been the hallmark of his batting. The high backlift makes his strokes all the more attractive and the way in which he  late cuts the ball of slower bowlers bringing the bat down  to meet the ball like a rapier is a sheer delight to  the eye. Over the years   he has always   made some slight changes against quick bowling. In his last few years he used to jump back and expose his leg stump while trying to play on the leg side. The bowler would always feel as if he had a chance to have his stumps rattled but with the genius that Lara is he always used to get his bat down just in the knick of time and play it on the leg side.

 Mohammad Yousuf ( formerly known as Yousuf Youhana ) was one of the most stylish batsman  from Pakistan. The key to his batting was to play the ball as late as possible especially in swinging conditions and on dry wickets he used to maneuver the ball on both the sides of the wicket of the spinners. The fielding captains always had trouble keeping the run rate down when   Yousuf was at the crease because he was always on the lookout for singles and would find gaps in the field with consummate ease. He also broke the world record held by Vivian Richards for most runs in a calendar year when he scored 1788 runs with 9 test centuries from 11 test matches in 2006. His elegant cover drives and the uncanny ability to   play late was one of the major reasons for his success despite not having a great footwork. The ability to stay calm and unflustered despite adverse conditions was the key to his tremendous success in test cricket averaging over 50 with 24 test hundreds. Mohammad Yousuf was  one of the mainstays of Pakistani batting lineup along  with Inzamam ul Haq. Mohammad Yousuf will always be remembered as one of the modern stylist batsman of his era.

Mahela jaywerdene has been around the international circuit for over 15 years now. When we think of finesse and style he just has to be included in this category, Whether it be his effortless driving on the off side which oozes class or his ability to play at the very last moment of spinners down to the third man region. When Mahela comes to the wicket in a matter of few overs he gets on with his job and by the time the opposition realizes he has already reached   a score of 30 or 40.His inside out shots of the spinners and his sense of improvisation against the quicks is a treat to the eye. Whether it be scoring hundreds against Australia in difficult conditions or in England where the ball darts around he has always stood up to be counted. His hundred against India in the finals of the 2011 world cup albeit in a losing cause was an absolute masterpiece. He is a supremely fit guy scoring hundreds in hot sultry conditions against the toughest of attacks. Currently the captain of the team he always leads the team with example scoring runs with unmatched style and providing sublime touch to his batting.

The sublime and classy style of batting Part 1

                   

Over the past 3 decades or so there have been various kind of batsmen who have graced the international scene in test and one day cricket. Some of them have been technically correct as far as the footwork and batting technique is concerned like Sunil Gavaskar, Geoffrey Boycott, Rahul Dravid. These batsmen have been known for their long stay at the crease and impeccable powers of concentration .Then there have been others like Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Shivnarine Chanderpaul who have looked ungainly and a bit out of place with their batting techniques and  foot movements. These batsmen although have never looked pretty while batting but have managed to score tons of runs and at important juncture of the game to help the team succeed. Then there have been the batsmen like Sehwag and Gilchrist who have murdered bowling attacks the world over. Besides all these batsmen there are a special brand of cricketers who have dazzled the spectators with their stylish strokeplay and imperious batting displays. These have been the batsmen who would please the true blue romantics of the game. Over the 2 parts of my article I would make a humble attempt to  present the  most stylish and classy players whom I have seen and who  have enthralled the viewers all around  the world  and my sincere  apologies to all if I have  not included someone truly worthy   of this select brand of batsmaship.

Mark Waugh or junior as he was always called by his teammates might not have the greatest of test records like his more illustrious brother Steve but what he exhibited in batting was pure joy to watch and a style which was unmatched by any batsman of his generation. Often considered to be casual and easy going by nature his batting also reflected some of these qualities. I am sure he must have hated being slotted as ‘casual’ because even he worked as hard if not harder as anybody going around the circuit. When he was at the crease his trademark on side flicks and gorgeous cover drives would make the spectators gasp in excitement and often enough he would score pretty 60’s and 70’s and would be out to a soft dismissal and people would often feel robbed of the entertainment feeling frustrated. Yes Mark Waugh did frustrate people when he would lose his concentration and often throw his wicket away when he seemed set for a long innings. Everything about him seemed so casual and at times he would make batting look ridiculously simple and would score runs without any fuss whatsoever. It is not surprising to note  that he never managed to score a test double hundred when clearly much inferior batsmen have scored a test double like Jason Gillespie and Wasim Akram to name a few. Batting for long hours was clearly not his forte barring on some occasions like his match winning 116 against South Africa at Port Elezabeth. In one of his rare patient and gritty display of batting  he helped Australia win the test chasing a stiff  4^th innings target. He was equally adept against pace and spin often scoring hundreds in England and also in the sub continent.

Saeed Anwar was one of the finest opening batsmen certainly in limited forms of cricket and he was one of those rare quality  opening batsman from Pakistan who enjoyed success at the highest level of the game for a considerable period.  A stylish left handed batsman who would score runs at a brisk pace was one half of the successful opening pair (Aamir Sohail being the other ) from Pakistan. Saeed Anwar also was equally good of pace and spin who would use his wrists to maneuver the ball in the gaps with consummate ease. He was also one of those free flowing batsmen who would score pull shots of anything short of length and despite being from the subcontinent he was a wonderful puller and hooker of the short deliveries which was a rare quality among the subcontinental breed of batsman. The stylish whip of his pads and the free flowing cover drive was indeed very delightful to watch. Like mark Waugh even Saeed Anwar also failed to score a double hundred in test cricket. He was often accused of chucking his wicket away when in prime form. Saeed Anwar scored hundreds in England and Australia against good bowling attacks certainly proving his class as a test opener. Anwar in his prime would destroy an attack as Indians faced the left hander’s wrath when he was at  his murderous best  in Chennai when he scored 194 in an ODI which was the highest ODI score at that time. A certain lazy elegance and wristy style of batting made him a sheer pleasure to watch.

VVS laxman has enthralled people the world over with his magical and audacious strokeplay against spinners and genuine quickies the world over. He was often a shaky starter at the start of the innings being beaten several times due to the obvious lack of footwork. His tendency to hang back would make him vulnerable against the swinging ball but after getting through the initial tough phase he would often score runs at a fair clip always dealing in boundaries even against the top bowlers. Laxman was one of the few gifted batsman who had the ability to score runs on both sides of the wicket. He was good against fast bowlers as his record against Australia down under would suggest. Against spin bowlers on a turning track for a ball pitched on virtually off stump, he had the rare ability to score a booming cover drive on the off side and for the very next  ball pitched on virtually the same spot he could whip it for an on drive or a flick on the on side. I have often wondered how the hell could he manage to treat the same ball to 2 very different corners of the field. Like Mark Waugh even Laxman seemed casual at times especially when he was going through a phase of his career in early 2001 when he would score pretty 30’s and 40’s and then throw his wicket away when the whole world expected him to score big runs . This was a phase just after his majestic 281 against Australia in Kolkata. Later on he went on to become one of the top batsman of his era and scored many hundreds against his favourite Aussies in their own backyard. The hard and bouncy pitches down under were just perfect for a predominantly back foot player like Laxman.  With dodgy knees laxman was not the swiftest movers between the wickets but he more than made up by dealing in boundaries with his imperious and sublime timing.

All these 3 batsmen would make batting look ridiculously simple for the viewers and for the sheer classy and effortless batting they will always be enshrined in the memories of people the world over.

Lively test wickets: The need of the hour for Indian cricket.

           

“Pitches are like wives, you don’t know how they might turn out to be” used to say a former great England opening batsman Geoffrey Boycott during his stint as a commentator during his pitch report. Certainly the surface on which a cricket match is played is of uttermost importance and more often than not dictates the proceedings out there in the middle. Certainly in Test cricket, the pitches have a huge bearing on the result of the match. As compared to other sports, the surfaces vary greatly depending on the country in which the matches are being played. The sub-continental pitches are invariably slow and low with very little assistance for fast bowlers and these surfaces are tailor made for slow bowlers where the spinners rule the roost for most part of 5 days. The pitches in South Africa and Australia are hard and bouncy in nature where there is a lot of help for fast bowlers for the majority of the test match. If we go to England and New Zealand the conditions are a bit damp which assist the traditional swing bowlers and there is a bit of juice for the initial 2 or 3 days.

During a test series the home team has the prerogative to prepare surfaces which suit their bowling strength and style of attack. Invariably the captains and the coaches have a say in the nature of the surfaces that are being prepared by the pitch curator. The major problems with the captain and the coach having a say in the nature of pitches being prepared is that the decisions are taken with a very short sighted vision of winning the home series and ignoring the away series in the long run. Obviously there is a lot at stake when the team is preparing for its home series and their argument is always that when they travel abroad they are going to be at a distinct disadvantage when they encounter surfaces which are very unfamiliar to the ones on which they are accustomed to playing regularly at home, So why not produce pitches which offer home advantage to the home team. There is some merit in this argument but the results when these teams travel abroad can be abysmal to say the least. To cite an example of India, when India plays at home it invariably plays on pitches where the spinners have a field day and India  has been virtually unbeatable at home, barring a couple of series against South Africa and Australia since the last 2 decades. The scenario drastically changes when India travels abroad (look what happened in the 2 recent overseas series against England and Australia.)

It begs the question as to why do our curators not prepare the sort of pitches which we might encounter while travelling abroad? Either the BCCI does not encourage these curators to prepare sporting pitches, or the curators simply are not capable of preparing a sporting track. There are a whole lot of factors which are to be considered while preparing a good cricket wicket. The overhead conditions, the inherent soil mechanics of the ground are very vital factors and a thorough knowledge is required by the curator if he is hoping to prepare a track which will last the entire duration of the match. A sporting track after all is not that difficult to prepare if there is a concerted effort by the home cricket board and the curators committee. There have been a few good cricketing wickets in India, the Mohali and the Wankhede track have always had a bit of juice for the fast bowlers. But invariably even these wickets have died down and especially the Mohali pitch which was once considered the fastest pitch in India has now become as dead as a dodo. Even the Mumbai pitch which was considered to be one of the best cricket wickets in India has started taking vicious turn from virtually day 1 and some of the matches have finished in less than 3 days. If the BCCI takes a tough stand and orders the curators to prepare tracks which offer some assistance to the pacers for the initial couple of days and later on from day 3 onwards if the spinners get some help out of the wicket, then all the variety of bowlers can have an influence on the result of the match.  The practice of producing surfaces which are underprepared and turn out to be rank turners is very detrimental when the team travels abroad, the surfaces which they are going to encounter are vastly different in nature to the ones on which they have grown up playing.

The process of preparing sporting tracks should really start from the domestic level, where the first class players become accustomed to playing on greener and more  livelier tracks which will stand them in good shape when they play at the international level in foreign condition. By preparing sporting tracks there is a distinct possibility of losing a few home test matches against strong teams,. But India’s poor overseas record will drastically improve and we might not experience the kind of annihilation which we saw a few months back in England and Australia. The true mettle of a cricketer is judged by his performances in overseas conditions where things are adverse rather than in home conditions where even an average player can score loads of runs against opposition. The BCCI has a great opportunity this season by ensuring that sporting pitches are prepared when majority of cricket will be played at home and we can prepare for the tougher series in a couple of years to come.

Modern day style of captaincy leaves a lot to be desired.

The game of cricket has evolved by leaps and bounds since it was first played internationally  in 1877. Some of the aspects of the game have improved drastically while some of them have deteriorated over the passage of time. One of the disturbing aspects of the modern day cricket is the lack of innovative style of captaincy. There has been a debate on what are the qualities of a good captain. Some astute experts on the game of cricket suggest that a captain is as good as his team, some might suggest that a captain should be able to command a place in his team by virtue of his performances. All said and done a captain of a national cricket team must be able to earn respect from his fellow players and he should be a good reader of the game always a step or two ahead of the game. Some of these prerequisite qualities are missing from a majority of the modern day captains. The approach of some of the captains seems to be baffling to say the least.

The first charge (if you could call it that) is the over defensive mindset of a fielding captain when the opposition team is under pressure. There are plenty of instances where the batting team is in a precarious position with a new player at the crease who is yet to get his eye in properly and adjust to the pitch conditions, what does the captain do? instead of building pressure on the new batsmen he places an in out field whereby the batsmen is allowed to maneuver the ball into the empty spaces and ease himself  at the very start of his innings. We rarely see close in fielders trying to save the single inside the inner circle. Secondly, the modern day captains lay too much emphasis on placing fielders for bad bowling. After every couple of deliveries the fielders are shuffled all over the field and this takes up way too much time. No wonder the bowling rates are appalling to say the least. Very seldom do we come across a captain who along with his team manages to complete the requirements of finishing 15 overs in an hour in tests as well as ODI’s .

Very often we see the bowlers getting the top batsmen out quickly but due to the defensive captaincy the tailenders hang on for far too long increasing the frustration level of the entire team which has a demoralizing effect when the fielding team goes out to bat. It is indeed baffling to watch a fielding captain placing defensive fields when a pair of an established player and a tailender is at the crease. The fielding team very rarely tries to get the recognized batsman dismissed quickly but instead only tries to scalp the tailender gifting precious runs to the batting team in the process. Even when the tailenders are slogging, the captains invariably place 4 or 5 fielders on the boundary giving way too much respect to the tailenders. Modern captains invariably run out of ideas when plan A or B does not work and lose focus on the job at hand. For an attacking player like Sehwag, fielding captains invariably place deep point and deep square leg even at the start of his innings. All they are doing is playing in to the hands of the batsmen as he is much too smart and chooses to take easy singles which are on offer every time. Very rarely do we see some ‘out of the box’ bowling changes like Martin Crowe started with a spinner like Dipak Patel during the ‘92’ world cup which proved to be a masterstroke.

One of the bane of modern day captaincy is the lack of innovative ideas when the onslaught is going on in limited overs cricket or when the pitch is very dead and flat during the test match. Even during the time of declaration of the innings the captains take far too long to declare erring on the side of caution as supposed to giving such a target which the batting team can attempt to chase down and might lose wickets in the process which could make the match very interesting. Captains like Mark Taylor would announce sporting declaration and would try to make a match out of a virtual dead test match. At a time when test cricket is being seriously challenged by the T20 format, it is all the more prudent for captains to be proactive rather than reactive in their captaincy so as to produce more and more results in the longer format of the game. The modern captains might argue that they have very few match  winning bowlers at their disposal and especially when more and more test matches are being  played on tracks which offer too little for the bowlers. Even though there is some merit in this argument, all the more reason to play 5 bowlers instead of 4 by taking the gamble of playing with a batsman short when the wickets are batting friendly. The modern captains also argue that they have a lot on their plate with all the media scrutiny and they have to manage various things off the field, but with handsome monetary rewards and recognition, captains must bear in mind that they are professionals at the end of the day and should consider themselves lucky when they are at the helm of affairs of  the entire team. Captaincy is a very crucial aspect of cricket unlike other sports and it has a substantial influence on the overall result of the game.

Need for the Ranji trophy to be revitalized

Rajasthan team winning the Ranji trophy 2011- 12

The glitz, glamour and the razzmatazz of the IPL is over and now it is time for some international and domestic action. India will be travelling to the  emerald island Sri Lanka. Meanwhile after some months, the premier domestic tournament Ranji trophy will commence. Having said that, Is the Ranji trophy of any importance? If you are anybody associated with the BCCI, then Ranji trophy does not matter as much as it used to till the cash rich Indian Premier League was launched. Clearly the priorities of the board have changed as far as the Ranji trophy and the Duleep trophy are concerned. The board is busy making money out of the IPL. The Ranji trophy till a few seasons ago was the one platform where the players could demonstrate their talent as well as character in a Ranji match and could have a chance of being considered for national selection. Since its inception in 2008 the IPL has become an easy option for the fringe and domestic players to get instant recognition and fame besides making moolah out of it by playing for a month and a half.

The major downside to the IPL is that the young Indian players at a very young age are influenced by the money and the glamour associated with the IPL and are reluctant to represent their state teams at the first class level. Add to it the fact that the selectors have started considering one odd impressive performance in the IPL as basis for selection in the national team. Imagine the plight of a domestic cricketer who is not considered by the franchisee for the IPL when he notices the fact that however impressive his performance at the first class level, he is going to find it difficult to be considered for a call at the national duty when one odd performance at the IP catches the eye of the short sighted selectors who directly draft these IPL players into the Indian team. There are loads of players who have consistently scored heavy runs at the first class level or have taken truck load of wickets year after year but they have been ignored for the Indian team and some good performances in a T20 format like IPL have been preferred. It begs the question why is the Ranji trophy being organized after all.  There was a time until the arrival of the IPL when good performance in the Ranji and the Duleep trophy were rewarded with national births. Players like Sachin Tendulkar,Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly who went on to become great cricketers were all a product of the first class system.

Another downer to the players being selected from the IPL is that in a T20 match a player with mediocre skill can also have a huge impact on the outcome of the game within a  couple of overs. A batsmen can smash the bowlers in the IPL but when it comes to playing the longer format of the game and for sustained period of time, then he is found wanting. The skill and the temperament  to adapt to different conditions  with the passage of time during a test or a first class match cannot be  developed by giving priority to the IPL over first class domestic tournaments. This is where the BCCI will have to keep aside their own selfish motives and    prioritize the Ranji trophy and the Duleep trophy tournaments. The selectors should reward consistent performances at the first class levels over the IPL performances. A player after proving himself at the first class level for a sustained period of time can deliver good performances when he is selected at the international circuit. Until very recently the players used to get peanuts for representing their state teams but the BCCI very rightly had taken a firm stand  by increasing the pay scale of the first class cricketers manifold. This has encouraged the first class cricketers to a certain extent but clearly it is not enough. Even the crowds at the Ranji matches are very sparse and they need to be brought in large numbers to bring  the dying first class matches to some much needed life. The players like Sachin Tendulkar and other senior players also need to play some of the matches when they are not on national duty. Clearly these players also do not make any concerted efforts to play in the Ranji trophy which will subsequently make the domestic matches more competitive and will bring in more spectators  to the stadiums.

Timing the exit of a very very special career

In February- march 2001 the Aussies arrived in India for a 3 match test and 5 match ODI series. Steve Waugh had already called it the final frontier after his team were on a juggernaut winning their last 15 test matches in a row. It was indeed a phenomenal achievement and they wrapped up the first test in Mumbai inside 3 days, winning it by 10 wickets. The second test was at the famous Eden Gardens in Kolkata. It was here that VVS Laxman decided to take hold of his career by the scruff of the neck. He had been a very talented player until then but always failed to live up to his immense talent. He scored a stellar 281 in the second innings after following on and miraculously India beat the Aussies by 171 runs and stopped the Aussie juggernaut. Since then VVS has not looked back and has become one of the top batsmen of his era.

Laxman has always struggled in the shorter form of the game and in his 16 year long career he has failed to play a single world cup match. But it is at the test level where he has excelled in his art. He is easily one of the most pleasing batsmen to watch  when in full flow. There are very few batsmen who can enthrall the viewers with their magical stroke play.  If we had to pick a team consisting of the most pleasing batsmen to watch, Laxman would easily walk in this team among the pantheon of other great batsmen of the game. He has had a fulfilling career scoring nearly 9000 runs at the test level with 17 test hundreds and over a hundred catches. Over the last few years he has carved out some of the most valuable 4^th innings chases and with  his cool demeanor, India has managed to chase some tough 4^th innings scores against top oppositions. His knock of 72 against Australlia at Mohali in October 2010 and his memorable hundred chasing a tough score   against Sri Lanka in the deciding test to level the series in the same year are some of the few innings which instantly come to mind. But having said all this the last 2 overseas tours of England and Australlia have proved that it will be very difficult for Laxman to survive the entire upcoming season. His failure in England was not much of a surprise as he has always been susceptible to the moving ball and with his limited footwork and the tendency to hang  back from the crease was going to create major problems in England. It was in Australlia against his favourite opposition where one thought that Laxman could weave some magic with his effortless sense of timing and subtle wrists but clearly age has caught up with him and even on bouncy and hard pitches which are best suited for his kind of stroke play, Laxman was found wanting.

Nevertheless he is still a very good player and all throughout his career he has been well known for his impeccable timing and it would be very fitting for him to announce his retirement from test cricket after the Hyderabad test against the Kiwis in August this year. It would be the perfect swansong for the stylish Hyderabadi playing in front of his home crowd..One of the striking things about Laxman has been his stellar record against the best team over a majority of his career. His test average against the Aussies is almost 50 even better than his overall test average including 6 test centuries.against his favorite opposition  Over the years Laxman has enthralled the viewers with his languid and imperious stroke play. Add to that his ability to make slip catching look ridiculously simple in test cricket where he has taken some blinders in the slip position. People might argue that he has dodgy knees and it has affected his running between the wickets but he has never been a great athlete over the years and he has had knee problems even when he has been on the top of his game. Having said that I seriously think it is time for him to go, not because there is anybody to replace him as such players cannot be replaced and their value to the team cannot be undermined but because all throughout his career  one of the  aspects which we all have enjoyed is his sense of impeccable timing and it would be very unlike him to stay on for far too long and drag his career. The real aspect is that he has very little to offer as a cricketer at this stage of his career.  This would be a fitting farewell to one of the best Indian batsmen of all time and an even more likeable individual off the field.

After overcoming cancer is it the opposition’s turn next……………?

On 2^nd of April 2011 the whole of India was celebrating and people were on the streets and dancing in the isles as the Indian cricket team had won the world cup after 28 years at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. This was a moment of satisfaction at the fulfillment of an important goal in the sporting career of a certain cricketer called Yuvraj Singh who had made no bones about the fact that he wanted to win the world cup for a certain Sachin Tendulkar and after the mission was accomplished he among all others was very relieved. To top it all Yuvraj was named the man of the tournament for his all round performances scoring 362 runs and taking 15 wickets. He had made a dream comeback in the team after a series of injuries and indifferent form. This award was indeed phenomenal to say the least and it pretty much spoke of the character of the man.

India was scheduled to play a 4 match test series in England after coming back victorious from the Carribean tour. Yuvraj sustained a finger injury in the test series against England and was out of the remainder of the series. Later after some days it was revealed that he was detected with a non malignant lung cancer which was in the primary stages and the fatal disease could be cured after a series of chemotherapy. He successfully completed the 3 phases of the chemotherapy in the US and currently is recouping and already has started light practice at the NCA in Bangalore. He himself is very eager to return to the game which has been his life. He is looking at the T20’s against New Zealand at home as a realistic target in August for his comeback. The road to recovery must have been a humbling experience one which must have toughened him mentally. Yuvraj Singh has been an outright match winner in ODI’s but somehow has not managed to cement his place in the test team even after being on the international circuit for almost 12 years. He has had some impressive performances at the test level but inherent shortcomings against the short pitched deliveries and the tendency to nibble outside the off stump has been his undoing at the test level. Nevertheless Yuvraj should just go out and express himself in tests and the ODI’s. The likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Pujara are going to be strong contenders for the middle order slots in tests. The initial stages of his comeback will be very interesting and it will certainly test his mental fortitude. Make no mistake he has been a champion and fought his way back into the Indian team several times after being axed or after an injury. Who knows we might see a completely free and uncluttered Yuvraj Sngh especially at the test level. It is at the test level where he has to prove himself and he knows it very well. He is nearing 30 and it is well documented that batsmen are at their peak around this age.

One of the most crucial aspects of his comeback will be the attitude of the team mates towards him. Don’t get me wrong they will be very supportive but after some low scores, if there is a sense of sympathy towards him then it will be the last thing which he will appreciate. He has alway been a tough nut and it will be a test of character of Yuvraj and his other teammates. It will take him some matches to get into the groove of international cricket after recovering from a life threatening lung cancer. He has gone through the toughest phase in his life and hopefully he emerges even stronger from this ordeal. It will be at the test level if he is selected where he will face the challenges. The past few months after the cancer detection have certainly changed his outlook towards life as a whole. He has himself admitted that he has started looking at life in a much deeper sense and he has decided to create awareness among cancer patients throughout the country. He has started the project ‘YOUWECAN’ which will help creating awareness for this fatal disease. Indeed if he makes a grand comeback in to the Indian team it will add another feather in his cap and we might just see the best of Yuvraj Singh for 3 or 4 years to come. Opposition be aware because after defeating cancer yuvi is all set to stamp his authority on world circuit once again.

Cricket in the good old 70’s and 80’s

I as a kid growing up in the 90”s used to wake up early in the morning to watch the test matches down under in Australlia. I still don’t miss any India match irrespective of my busy schedule. But whenever I watch some of the old videos of the test matches being played in the 70”s and 80”s, i get very fascinated by some of the riveting contests between the bat and the ball on some of the liveliest pitches in England and Australlia. These days when I go to the stadium to see the matches, I always wonder and imagine the site of the 70’s and 80’s where  the world’s fastest bowlers used to have  a real go at the top batsmen of that era. I have to admit that I rue the fact that I was not able to witness cricket matches from that era either on television or otherwise. One of the striking aspects about cricket matches in those days was an equal contest between bat and ball. Each of the top teams had at least 2 very good genuine fast bowlers in their bowling attack. The pitches in those days especially the likes of Perth,Jamaica,Barbados and some of the pitches in England used to assist the fast bowlers and the test matches invariably were fiercely contested. Compare  this situation to the present day where the batsmen have all become flat track bullies and when they come across one odd tricky wicket they invariably struggle to adjust and are found wanting at test level. Look at the recent Indian team debacle where they  encountered some bowling friendly pitches in England and Australlia and the batsmen including all the great players were exposed  and fell like  nine pins.

The administrators seriously need to look at producing wickets skewed in favour of fast bowlers right from the domestic level so that the first class players do not come a cropper at the highest level.Also one of the main reasons for the bat dominating the ball is the lack of genuine fast bowlers who can blow apart the opposition just as the West Indian fast bowling attack of the 70”s and 80”s or the deadly duo of Lillee and Thomson from Australlia. These great fast bowlers used to terrorize  even the top batsmen with genuine pace. We certainly miss the epic encounters between Sunil Gavaskar and Michael Holding or Graham Gooch and Malcolm Marshal. Even the spell of Allan Donald at Johannesburg to Michael Atherton was worth travelling miles to watch. Due to the crazy schedule of the cricket matches now a days the fast bowling as an art is becoming virtually extinct as the fast bowlers are prone to serious career threatening injuries which does not allow them to bowl at full throttle but rather  bowl  well within themselves. One of the other things which was non existent few decades back was the overpowering presence of the match referees where in the on field umpire had the  responsibility to control the proceedings out in the middle. Due to the fear of being called up by these referees, we hardly see any harmless banter or chirping among on field players. Friendly banter was one of the enjoyable things to look forward to in the 70”s and the 80”s. it seems as if the players have become well behaved robots and there seems to be no room for on field histrionics. Who can forget the scuffle between Javed Miandad and Deniss Lillee or the one between Steve Waugh and Curtly Ambrose. The cricket administrators must always remember the fact that the players are out there to win and an expression of some emotions is not necessarily a bad thing in sport , in fact it only adds to the beauty of the fierce contest out in the middle.

In the 70”s and 80”s after the end of the days play the players used to hang out  not only with their teammates but also  used to share a drink or two with the rival players. The stories of Ian Bothom  sharing a drink with the Aussie players in the dressing room  is part of the ashes folklore. Now a days there is virtually no off the field camaraderie between the opposing teams, with the players  forgetting the fact that cricket is after  all just a game where one team has to lose on the field. There used to be mutual demonstration of  admiration among the players where a bowler used to appreciate the batsmen for a well played shot, Bishen Singh Bedi the legendary Indian left arm spinner used to clap for a batsmen stroking a well timed shot of his bowling. Now a days all a batsmen gets for his effort is a angry glare or a swear word from the bowlers. The game has certainly evolved in some aspects but there should be a right balance between the bat and the ball  and also the players must learn to loosen up and enjoy the game with the opposing teams after a hard day out in the middle.