This is it!

When I started blogging about 10 months ago I never thought this day would come.

But it has.

The time to take a break is here.

However, my reasons for taking this break have nothing to do with the "over dose" of cricket, nor is it because I have succumbed to the high number of meaningless matches and boring cricket syndrome.

For me there is no such thing as "too much cricket". The more the better!

I am going to be travelling for the entire month of August and I don't think I will have the time to post or comment on other blogs.

And honestly, I will miss it.

To all the readers of Well Pitched - thank you for visiting and commenting regularly.

Keep visiting though as Sledgehammer, Obaid, and Nazhar will continue to post and entertain.

See you all in a months time!

Time to Praise the Spinning M&Ms

Arjuna Ranatunga has blamed 20-20 cricket for India's huge defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in the 1st test of the ongoing series.

Which 20-20 cricket he's talking about, he doesn't say.

Either its the IPL or its the T20 internationals.

If he's talking about the latter, then his claim makes no sense.

Firstly because the number of T20Is on each tour is restricted by the ICC so definitely there isn't any overdose.

And secondly, India's big 4 - Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, and Ganguly - do not play T20Is.

So its the IPL he's talking about I guess.

But then even that makes no sense.

Apart from Sehwag and Gambhir, who were the IPL's best opening pair, none of the other batsmen of the test XI played a major role in the 20-20 league.

Not only that but none of those players is even considered a 20-20 player.

Sachin Tendulkar sat out more than half the IPL due to injury and in the matches he played, he played one good knock of 50+ if my memory serves right. So he's definitely not suffering from a 20-20 hangover.

VVS Laxman also missed out more than half of the IPL matches due to injury. Even though he played several cameos in a few matches, Laxman was mostly found wanting in the 20-20 game. So no hangover there either.

Rahul Dravid played all the matches in the IPL and by the end of it seemed to have gotten the hang of the game. However, its no secret that Dravid didn't enjoy it and that he would rather be playing test cricket any day. Even though he adapted well to the IPL, that in no way could have affected his natural instinct of being a test player. No 20-20 hangover here either.

Saurav Ganguly had a fairly successful IPL with some good knocks and is probably more suited to the 20-20 game than the above 3. But then Ganguly has been a natural ODI and 20-20 player throughout his career who has always adapted to test cricket. During the last 2 years, his test performance has been brilliant and since his comeback he has been one of India's mainstays in the middle order. He's always adapted well so no 20-20 hangover here either.

Coming back to Sehwag and Gambhir. Following the IPL, the 2 openers translated their 20-20 form in ODIs, and there's no reason why they can't do it at the test level.

Sehwag has always played the way he did in the Colombo test, which according to Ranatunga is like 20-20 cricket. Well, in the past Sehwag' 20-20 approach got him 2 triples in test cricket and a number of 150+ scores. He can fail once in a while.

As for Gambhir, he looked better than most of India's batsmen in this test and yet he was the best Indian batsman of the IPL. Gambhir is making a comeback to the test side and with his talent he will definitely do better going forward.

So why excactly is 20-20 cricket being blamed?

Ranatunga can probably answer that better because I certainly don't see it.

My message to Ranatunga as well as all my fellow Indian bloggers is that there really is no reason to be pointing fingers at the failure of the Indian batsmen in the Colombo test.

They were up against quality spin bowling to which they had no answers to. Even King Sanga thinks so!

Maybe its time that the focus is shifted from blaming 20-20 cricket and the failure of India's powerful batting line up to Praising the Magic of the Spinning M&Ms.

Pakistan's New Bad Boy?

Shoaib Akhtar emerged in 1998 under Wasim Akram and he was considered as Pakistan's future of bowling once Wasim and Waqar hung up their boots.

Once the 2 Ws left in 2003, Shoaib Akhtar's career went down the drain and into the gutters of Pakistan.

Mohammad Asif emerged a couple of years ago and a Shoaib-Asif-Gul trio seemed like a dream pace attack for Pakistan but even his career has joined Shoaib's in the gutters even before it could take off properly.

Then about a year ago there emerged an unorthodox left arm pacer - Sohail Tanvir.

He joined Pakistan in the World T20 as Shoaib's replacement on Wasim Akram's recommendation.

Sohail impressed one and all in his first few outings with his windmill roller coaster action bemusing all batsmen.

No one expected him to have the same success at the test level but against India he produced the goods troubling the likes of Dravid, Laxman, Sachin, and Ganguly in his debut test series.

Sohail continued to impress in all forms of the game and soon became Pakistan's spearhead in the absence of Shoaib and Asif.

Along came the Indian Premier League and under Shane Warne, Sohail Tanvir produced outstanding bowling displays and ended the tournament with more wickets than anyone else and the best bowler award.

Sohail's rise to Pakistan's no.1 pacer was rapid and impressive.

He was considered a good talent and in terms of character he was very different to the Wasims, Waqars, Shoaibs, and Asifs lacking the flamboyancy and appearing modest in his approach.

Good signs were being seen as finally Pakistan had a fast bowler who was less prone to injuries one that would also stay clear of controversies.

However, today, this news appeared. Read this as well.

Why am I not surprised?

How can Pakistan create a star and not make the stardom get to his head?

No matter what the case or issue here. Whether its late night drinking or gambling or partying or anything else, it needs to be corrected now.

If the PCB or the team management takes a soft approach now, they will regret it forever as they have done with Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif.

I pray for Pakistan's sake that Sohail Tanvir does not go down the same gutter that Shoaib & Asif lie in currently.

For that to be ensured though, the PCB needs to take action. The team management needs to take action. And Sohail Tanvir needs to respond and realise!

Mendis Rocked India's Boat!

I have raved about him before and I am going to do it again.

Mendis was the star at Colombo.

Sure it was Muralitharan who picked up 11-110 and handed India their 3rd largest defeat ever, but would Murali have been able to do it without Mendis?

No, probably not.

This was Murali's 16th test match against India and his match figures of 11-110 is his best effort against them.

Murali has taken 10 wickets in a match against India only once before this and that was at the same ground 7 years ago.

India faced a similar defeat back then as Murali picked up 8-87 and 3-109.

The difference between then and now is that in 2001 Murali bowled as many as 81 overs and there was no Sachin, no Sehwag, no Laxman, no Gambhir in that match.

In the match that just ended, Murali bowled only 42 overs, half of what he had bowled in 2001 for the same number of wickets.

Futhermore, Murali has 21 hauls of 10 wickets in a match, yet only thrice has he picked those wickets up in lesser overs than the 42 he bowled in this match.

Those 3 times were against West Indies (25.3), England (37.2), and Bangladesh (35.5) - neither of whom is an India when it comes to playing spin.

My point?

It was Mendis who created the pressure and it was Murali who benefited the most.

With a Mendis sharing the burden at the other end, Murali was a more potent force.

Mendis had match figures of 8-132, which is remarkable for a spinner making his debut against India - Ask Shane Warne!

Mendis had ripped apart India in the Asia Cup final but at that time we all thought that Yuvraj, Sharma, Raina, and the rest of the Indian brat back weren't the players of spin that Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, and Laxman were.

Before this series began there was a lot of hype surrounding Mendis and how he would fare against India in test matches.

Dhoni gave statements that the Indian batsmen would have figured Mendis out before the test series began.

Dravid was right when he said that it was wrong to only focus on Mendis as Murali and Vaas presented a far greater threat but then he probably didn't focus at all as he fell to him in both innings.

What a first test wicket as well - that of Rahul Dravid.

Mendis had the Indian batsmen, 'the best players of spin in the world', in all sorts of trouble in both innings.

The pressure, which used to be applied only from Murali's end, was now there from both ends.

Thus, even though it was Murali ripping through India, it was Mendis who was helping Murali do that.

Mendis had a brilliant debut and that too against one of the top sides. The lesser opposition might already be getting weak in the knees.

What is Shoaib Malik Smoking?

Definitely not what Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar have been smoking.

In a TV interview on Friday, Shoaib Malik was asked what he thought about Misbah's leadership in the Asia Cup game against India.

Malik's reply to that was:

"There wasn’t anything great about Misbah leading Pakistan to victory in the Karachi game since the selection of the playing eleven on that day was done by me and it clicked famously"

Really Malik?

What exactly was Malik thinking when he blurted that out?

Trying to defend his status as captain?

Did he not think about what he had said exactly a month ago during the same Asia Cup after Pakistan had lost to India in the group game when he was leading the team?

Let me remind him and everyone else.

"When captains are given the 11 players, then you ask this question of the selectors"

This is what Malik said at a post match conference when he was asked about the XI selected for the match.

So now what I would like to ask Malik is how is it that in a match in which you are captain, the selectors get to pick the XI and don't listen to you, but when you are sitting out due to injury and Misbah is captaining, you get to pick the XI?

It bemuses me really.

We all know that the selectors pick the XI in Pakistan these days.

We all know it was Misbah who had been pushing for Saeed Ajmal and Nasir Jamshed's inclusion for a long time while Malik continued to back Kamran Akmal as opener and preferred Mansoor Amjad to Saeed Ajmal.

Surely Malik is trying to fend off speculation that Misbah is the better captain by saying things like "I chose the XI".

But he's kept the captaincy thanks to Nasim Ashraf's backing so maybe its better for him to stay shut and try and lead the team rather than giving public statements which are not true.

Its an insult to the public's intelligence and Malik needs to realise that we do know how Pakistan cricket works and not everyone watching him on TV is going to take every word of his on face value.

Maybe he is smoking that stuff that Shoaib and Asif carry in their wallets.

An Impressive Debut

So, Cricket's much anticipated referral system got underway today in the first Test of the ongoing Sri Lanka - India series.

In summary...both the batsman and the captain of the fielding side are allowed to ask for a referral (aka challenge, review). Each team gets three unsuccessful challenges per innings (there is no limit on successful challenges). The third umpire looks at a few replays to determine whether there is enough to overturn the on-field umpire's decision. Use of Hawkeye or anything like that is not allowed (which is fine).

There were three referrals done today, with the second one a perfect example of why referrals are a great idea:

45.4: Harbhajan to Warnapura. LBW appeal turned down by on-field umpire. Kumble refers to third umpire, who agrees with on-field umpire's decision. Challenge was unsuccessful.

105.3: Zaheer to Dilshan. Dilshan given out caught behind. Dilshan challenges it. Third umpire overrules on-field umpire's decision! Challenge was successful.

119.1: Harbhajan to Dilshan. LBW appeal turned down by on-field umpire. Kumble refers to third umpire, who agrees with on-field umpire's decision. Challenge was unsuccessful.

Of course, there are innumerable pros which are fairly obvious. But I'll mention a couple of potential issues I see with this system...first, there is the time delay factor - how much will this referral system impact a sport that is already so pressed for time (yes, even five days aren't enough! ;-). Second, what is the time limit to challenge a decision? You want to avoid pavilion involvement, i.e. you don't want the supporting cast to see a replay and then signal accordingly to the on-field players. As long as a player decides to challenge within 10-15 seconds, it should be ok.

Overall though, a great idea, and a much-needed relief for players, umpires, and fans. This cricket fan, for one, is extremely excited. Let's hear it for Technology! And, we all take our shots at them all the time, so let's give them a rare moment of appreciation...kudos to you, ICC, for pressing on with this system despite less than welcoming attitudes from many in the cricketing world, and a failed trial in domestic cricket.

It's About Time!

A big day of cricket is about to begin. As India take on Sri Lanka in the first test, the eyes of the cricket world will be on the trial of the new referral system (Tendulkar's potential record-breaking innings notwithstanding).

I, for one, am very much in favour of the system. Cricket has been at the forefront of technology - from replays for runouts, to Duckworth-Lewis. So why not take the next logical step, especially when it's fairly easy to do so?

Per the system, there will be three referrals per team per innings = 24 potential referrals per match. Now that could mean a lot of time dedicated to referrals, but we'll have to wait to see whether teams actually take advantage of the system.

Many sports have headed the direction of replays. Tennis, NFL, etc. Baseball is planning to get replays as well. Football/soccer definitely should have it to, at least for goals that were declared offside.

Here are some interesting comments regarding the cricket referral system, some favorable, others more skeptical.

I do wonder who will be the first referred dismissal (or non-dismissal). Could it be Sachin Tendulkar, the man who was the first player to be given run-out by a TV umpire?

Like any new system, there will be success and failure, and the system will adapt over time. So let's accept any failures as a learning process, and cherish the successes as a much needed step in the right direction.

To referrals...cheers!

Random Dip

It was quite a happening weekend in Dubai where I was attending a conference, meeting up and socializing with some old friends, and doing everything unrelated to cricket.

But for some reason, cricket refuses to leave me.

Inzamam Ul Haq happened to be staying at the same hotel where my conference was. He was there with family in tow. Probably enjoying the summer heat of Dubai.

Its definitely the worst time of the year to come to this part of the world so I'm not sure what Inzi was doing here.

I heard Younis Khan is in Saudi Arabia for an Umrah (the religious pilgrimage) - maybe Inzi stopped by on his way there.

In striking contrasting styles, another cricketer, namely Yuvraj Singh, chatted up Well Pitched blogger O2's wife at the Mall of the Emirates when a polite request for an autograph was met with demands for taking him partying around Dubai's night spots.

All this while his team mates Sachin, Karthik, and Gambhir piled 50s against a Sri Lankan Board XI.

Speaking of Karthik, I wonder why fellow blogger Ottayan keeps calling him "Kaarthick" - someting to do with numerology Ott?

Later at night I sent an SMS to O2 asking if he was partying with Yuvraj and I got an instant reply that read:

"Hahaha. No Scene. Sleazy B£$&%^*!"

Well thats Yuvi for you I guess.

Kapil Dev today had his thoughts on him too when he said "He must exhibit his talent at a proper place rather than elsewhere".

India's test series against Sri Lanka seems to be building up well with the hype around Mendis along with the return of Sachin and him aproaching Brian Lara's record for most rest runs.

I just hope the matches aren't high scoring boring draws.

My blogging frequency dipped during last week as I got busy planning my month long sabbatical in August, which was quite a tough task.

Its almost done now. I will be away for all of August but I'm sure Obaid, Sledge, Nazhar, and O2 will be able to keep you entertained.

I'll be back in time for the Champions Trophy, the location of which we still don't know.

What I also don't know is how I will keep track of the cricket blogosphere while I'm away.

I disappear for a weekend and I find that J Rod has posted more than what other blogs do in a weeks time. This is a month I'm talking about.

Oh well, I'll find out soon enough.

There won't be much cricket to miss though or will there?

Sachin getting to 12,000 test runs, Mendis breaking the record for most wickets in a 3-test series, South Africa winning their first series in England since their readmission, Asif winning his doping case, another doping scandal for Pakistan cricket as yesterday's test results come out may be just some of the stories that would be written on while I'm away.

I'm here for another week though but still doing quite a bit of planning.

The Trend Continues...

Remember when I said this last week?

"If trends are anything to go by, both the Windies and the Indians got high scores of 408 and 627 in their 1st innings of the series - after that it was all Steyn, Ntini, and Morkel.

Shows what the English are in store for after their 593-8 in the 1st innings."

The trio sure have proved me right and David Lloyd all wrong as England face an innings defeat after a huge 522 by South Africa.

11 of the 13 English wickets to fall thus far for 250 odd runs have been taken by Steyn, Ntini, and Morkel.

You still say there's no guile Mr. Lloyd?

Pakistan's Uncapped Unknowns

There are 5 uncapped players in Pakistan's 30 probables for the Champions Trophy including Anwar Ali, whom we have talked about several times, in addition to some new names that have appeared on a Pakistan team sheet for the first time.

Here's a glimpse on who they are.

Ahmed Shehzad: This boy from Lahore is only 16 years old and has been a successful opener for the Pakistan U-19 team and for Lahore.

Shehzad made his frst class debut in the 2006-07 season playing for Lahore, though it was this season (2007-08) that he established himself as one of the most promising upcoming cricketers in Pakistan.

Even though he didn't taste success in first-class cricket, Shehzad had a very successful List A season opening for the Lahore Eagles scoring 360 runs in 8 innings at an average of 51.42.

He played his debut List A match against the visiting South Africans last October and impressed with an aggressive 35 at the top of the order against the likes of Pollock, Ntini, and Nel.

On the U-19 circuit, Shehzad has been one of the best batsmen around. He was the 2nd highest run scorer for Pakistan in the U-19 World Cup earlier this year, and also impressed everyone with his strokeplay in youth tests and ODIs against England and Australia last year.

His 2nd innings 167 was instrumental in leading Pakistan to a 3 wicket win over England in the 2nd Youth test that helped Pakistan draw the 2-test series 1-1.

Against the touring U19 Australians, Shehzad played a major part in leading Pakistan to a 5-0 sweep of the ODI series with a 115 in the 3rd ODI and an unbeaten 99 in the 5th.

Chances: This call up should act as a confidence booster for Shehzad and during the camp next month, it would do him good to get some advice from the likes of Misbah, Salman Butt, and Younis Khan. He wouldn't be expecting a call to the final 15, though he would know that with another 3-4 years of successful domestic seasons, he has a good chance of playing for Pakistan.

Azhar Ali: Another young boy from Lahore, Azhar has been around the domestic scene for a number of seasons, however it was this season that he caught the eye of the selectors during the ABN Amro One-Day Cup Competition.

Playing for Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Azhar impressed with a string of performances displaying his form in each outing with scores of 106*, 49, 60, 119, 88, 47, and 67.

Azhar finished the ABN Amro Cup as the leading run scorer with 558 runs in 9 innings at an average of 79.71 that led him to being the only non-international batsmen among the leading run scorers in List A games for the 2007-08 season in Pakistan.

He also had a fairly successful first class season scoring 603 runs at an average of 50 with 4 centuries and a 50.

Chances: With Mohammad Yousuf missing in action, the selectors could be bold and draft in Azhar Ali who has shown immense potential as a middle order batsman in domestic cricket. Though I think the selectors would prefer to go in with tried and tested names such as Mohamma Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, and Bazid Khan. If Azhar can continue to display the same form in the coming seasons, he could soon find himself fitting into the Ageing Pakistani middle order.

Mohammad Aamer: This Rawal Pindi boy recently made the headlines when Wasim Akram mentioned in an interview that he would draft this 16 year old left arm fast bowler into the national set up right away.

Wasim Akram had pointed out Aamer during the same fast bowlers camp last year, in which he had spotted Sohail Tanvir.

Aamer played his first List A game as recently as March in this season's ABN Amro One Day Cup Competition, in which he represented the Rawal Pindi Rams. He was impressive on his debut itself picking up figures of 3-35.

In 8 matches in the ABN Amro cup, Aamer picked up 14 wickets at 21.92 finishing among the leading wicket takers in the competition.

Prior to this, Aamer had also impressed at the U19 level. He started this yearsU19 World Cup with a figures of 3-12 against Malaysia, however due to a viral infection he missed the rest of the tournament.

At that time Pakistan U19 coach Mansoor Rana had claimed that Aamer was their best bowler, which he had showed in previous matches for the U19s including two 4-wkt hauls in the tri-series leading up to the U19 World Cup that led him to be the leading wicket taker in that tournament.

Chances: With Mohammad Asif suspended, Shoaib Akhtar's inclusion unconfirmed, and Umar Gul under an injury cloud, Aamer could find himself fast-tracked into the final squad of 15 for the Champions Trophy. Wasim Akram has already called for his inclusion and with Sohail Tanvir there as proof, one would be foolish to ignore Wasim Akram's suggestions. Pakistan' bowling resources have looked extremely thin in recent times due to more factor than one and an exciting 16 year old may bring some life into the pace attack.

Mohammad Ali: This 18 year old right arm fast bowler has no claim to fame apart from the fact that he hails from Shoaib Malik's hometown and plays for the Sialkot Stallions, the same team that the Pakistan skipper represents in domestic cricket.

I can only assume that was the reason behind including Ali in the 30 because other than that he hasn't done anything of note to demand the attention of the selectors.

He has played only 4 List A games making his debut in this season's ABN Amro One Day Cup Competition picking up 6 wickets at 25.50.

It is difficult to believe that Malik has that sort of influence over the selectors or the PCB, so I'll just think that the selectors had some good reason for including this boy in the 30.

Maybe to appease Malik?

Who knows.

Chances: Who knows. Maybe Malik wants to play the Sialkot team instead of Pakistan.

Some Thoughts on Pakistan's 30...

Captaincy Debate

Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq were retained as captain and vice-captain respectively.

For me, this was the key take away from Pakistan's 30 probables that were finally announced yesterday after much delay.

After lengthy discussions, it was the Chairman and his leash that proved to be as tight as ever before.

Despite numerous arguements from senior PCB officials, as well as, some senior players, DNA had none of it and maintained his stance of Malik completing his 2-year term as captain.

Ins and Outs & Inefficiencies

Shoaib Akhtar's in, Mohammad Asif's out, Mohammad Yousuf's out.

Different reasons and circumstances for these 3 who were all expected to be a part of the squad.

What bothers me is that regarding Shoaib and Yousuf - when the PCB knew the deadline was 11h July, why were'nt all these issues sorted out in time.

Why did DNA, the selectors, and all the others involved wake up at the last minute?

The Asif issue was beyond their control. That's understandable but on the 11th of July when the probables should have been announced, there was no news of an IPL drug scandal.

Just goes to show how inefficient an organization the PCB is.

They have been criticized way too much now. Why don't they all just resign?

Inconsistency

Not only inefficient, but the PCB is also an inconsistent lot.

Looking at the 30 probables you would notice that there is no Naumanullah there.

One wonders then that how could a batsman who a month ago was good enough to be in a squad of 16 for the Kitply Cup, is no longer good enough to be in the top 30 ODI players in the country.

And that too without playing a game in between.

Remember when I said this about him.

Considering that there is no Yousuf, this might have been an ideal opportunity to give Nauman some games.

They defy logic, the PCB do.

Some Positives

The selectors included 5 uncapped players who were among the top performers this domestic season, which shows that the selectors aren't completely asleep.

Anwar Ali, who has been on the fringes for some time now, along with Ahmed Shehzad, the leading U19 batsman, Mohammad Aamer, the left arm pacer who impressed Wasim Akram, Azhar Ali, this season's leading domestic List A run scorer, and Mohammad Ali, the young pacer from Shoaib Malik's home town have all been included in Pakistan's 30.

More on them later.

Dhoni's Angels

We all know that Dhoni is not touring Sri Lanka with the Indian squad.

We all know that Dhoni wanted to rest his aching bones from playing cricket day-in day-out.

But do we know what happened when Dhoni got to Ranchi, his hometown, to find some rest.

Noone let him have that rest.

He was mobbed by fans who gathered around his house wanting a glimpse of India's biggest cricket sensation since Sachin Tendulkar.

Not surprisingly, majority of these fans were female.

Thus, in order to save himself from all these mobsters, Dhoni got himself some security guards.

Whats unique though is that Dhoni has got FEMALE security guards!

Thats True!

We are proud to present, for the first time in India, Dhoni's Angels!!!

The author says "His good looks and powerful performance on the field have earned him many fans, including a lot of young women ....".

I wonder if Salman Ravi has the desire to meet Dhoni one day.

And why female guards, you may ask.

Well, that is so because according to the senior police offcier "we decided to deploy women commandos for his security as they can do the job with ease".

Uhh, what job sir?

Oh keeping the female fans away! You had me thinking there for a moment.

And Commandos? My my!

The story also mentions Dhoni being hugged by a fan who ran onto the playing field at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta.

The author says that some of Dhoni's friends claim that "Dhoni is yet to get over the embarrassment" - regarding the Calcutta incident.

Why is he embarassed? He must have loved it. Any guy would!

To that another police official says "The next three weeks that he is here we will ensure that he does not have to face any kind of embarrassment like the one in Calcutta".

Again, Calcutta was not an embarassment. That was probably the most exciting single moment of Dhoni's career!

However, even if we think of it as an embarassing situation for a moment, Dhoni might be in for some different kind of embarassing situations now, contradictory to what the police official has said.

This is what one of the female guards at Dhoni's door step had to say:

"I watched him play on television and never thought I would see him from such close quarters" she giggles.

She giggles!?

Well hello. We have some more fans here!

So whose going to save Dhoni from these fans then?

And there isn't one of them. There are as many as 15.

15 females guarding Dhoni's home!

Oh no wait. 15 female commandos guarding Dhoni's home!

Now which guy wouldn't want that?

That too when one of them says "It is good to be deployed for his security".

Now we all know why Dhoni opted out of the Sri Lanka tour.

Losing Yousuf

PCB has proven to be brainless in many ways, and scheduling the Champions Trophy entirely in Ramadan is perhaps the most incredible move of all. Not only is it a bit of a logistical mess, it also means Pakistan will lose its most solid batsman:

Cricinfo has learnt that Yousuf will be unavailable because the tournament will be played during the month of Ramadan. "Yousuf has asked to be excused from the Champions Trophy as it will be held during Ramadan and he does not want to be playing during that month," a source close to the selection committee told Cricinfo. "We have respected that decision and not picked him in the squad." [LINK]

I'm not one for mixing religion and anything, but I find Yousuf's decision completely fair. It is PCB who should be slapped a million times over in the face for this horrific scheduling.

Outside of the Yousuf situation, think of all the security officials, the crowds, the groundskeepers, players, etc. - all who will probably be fasting, and will want to break their fast at one specific time. Not only that, they will probably want to say their prayers too, as is customary at breaking fast time, so you need facilities for that. And it also involves washing up in a bathroom, which means thousands of people will attack the stadium bathrooms at the same time. I do not envy the head of logistics and operations for this tournament!

A couple of positive notes - the innings break can be easily timed with the fast breaking (iftari) time, which helps a bit. And, Pakistan won the 1992 World Cup during Ramadan.

I really wonder if there's any sane person in the PCB. I'd love to blame DNA & Co once again, but I think the dates for the Champions Trophy were decided together by the ICC and a previous PCB administration. So the stupidity just comes with the territory I guess.

Its Asif !!!

I'm sure many would have guessed it when the news 1st broke that a pacer from the subcontinent had been tested positive during the random drugs tests that were conducted by WADA during the Indian Premier League.

It has been confirmed now.

2nd offence, life ban.

Or is it the 3rd?

It doesn't matter anymore.

He was caught with opium in his wallet at the Dubai airport on his way back from India after taking part in the IPL.

Opium is a drug that is on the list of prohibitive items of WADA.

We still don't know whether it was opium that he was tested positive for.

Whatever it was, it doesn't matter anymore.

The career of Pakistan's most promising fast bowler since Wasim & Waqar is over even before it took off.

I'm too disappointed to say anything more.

As a result the 30 probables that were to be announced today will also not be announced till tomorrow.

There's no saving Asif from this.

No way!

"Cricket, Texas-Style"

Here's a link to an article that appeared in Time magazine (in the US edition at least), about cricket and Allen Stanford. Nothing new really for someone familiar with the cricketing world, but still worth a quick read.

Why the Delay?

The Pakistan selection committee is supposed to convene tomorrow (Monday) with other senior officials of the PCB before announcing the 30 probables for the Champions Trophy.

No where else will you find such hoopla over the list of probables for a tournament. Not even the final squad of 15, but a list of probables.

Considering that the final 15 can be chosen from outside the 30 probables, it truly is mindboggling witnessing this whole facade.

Local newspapers have mentioned a number of reasons as to why the announcement, which didn't meet the ICC deadline of 11th July, has been delayed.

The fact that the list of 30 probables provided by the selection committee was rejected by the PCB is true but the reasons being given by the PCB officials as to why it was rejected are pointless to say the least.

Here' why.

Reason 1: Shoaib Akhtar's Fine.

We all know that Shoaib Akhtar was banned for 5 years, which got reduced to 18 months, and was fined Rs 7 million.

The Lahore High Court suspended Shoaib's ban pending a decision, which led the selectors to include him in the list of probables.

Chief Selector Sallu sahab has confirmed publicly that Nasim Ashraf's approval was attained before including Shoaib's name in the list.

News reports though mention that some Board officials rejected Shoaib's inclusion on the basis that he has not yet cleared the fine of Rs. 7 million.

This is intriguing to me as in the past all fines imposed on players have been deducted from their match fees / contract retainers / other fees paid by the board.

Furthermore, Shoaib's lawyer has claimed that the PCB never asked Shoaib to pay the fine.

Now you see why I say this reason is pointless.

Reason 2: Non-contracted players in the 30.

Another reason being given is that the 30 probables were rejected because it included non-contracted players, including Shoaib Akhtar.

The news reports claim that in order to include players in a squad, who are not contracted to the PCB, the selectors need to get an approval from some committee.

What BS! There was never any approval required for players like Nasir Jamshed, Sohail Khan, Abdur Rauf, Saeed Ajmal - all non-contracted players.

And even if an approval was required, why was it not attained before the deadline?

Surely this is not a reason to delay the announcement - and that too of a preliminary list of 30, not even that of a final 15 man touring squad.

So what is really keeping the squad from being made public?

There was a news report 3 days ago, a day before the 30 probables were to be announced, that stated that some senior officials of the PCB were lobbying to replace Shoaib Malik as captain.

From what I have heard, it is not only the senior officials of the PCB but also some players, both senior and junior, who have combined to place this pressure on Nasim Ashraf, who is the only one supporting Malik currently.

If you want to know why Nasim Ahraf is supporting Malik, the leash is the answer to that.

The selectors are also of the view that its time for Malik to go, which resulted in them handing over a list of 30 probables without naming a captain.

Obviously Nasim Ashraf then did not let the list be announced.

Now this could all be rumours, but I have reason to believe that besides the official meeting of the selectors and the PCB officials tomorrow morning, there have been a number of unofficial meetings in the last 2 days to decide the fate of Malik.

Why this has not appeared in the media is anybody's guess.

If history is to be looked at, Nasim Ahraf will get his way yet again.

The leash will come into play yet again.

We will all find out tomorrow the fate of Malik.

Don't be surprisedto see him not listed as captain when the list of 30 is made public, or with the announcement that the captain will be announced at the time of finalizing the 15-man squad.

And despite this whole drama around Shoaib Akhtar being non-contracted and non-payment of fine, he will defnitely be a part of the 30.

Till tomorrow then.

All Pace no Guile?

David Lloyd said this about Steyn, Ntini, and Morkel:

"Pace is nothing with guile"

Big words those from Lloyd.

He's talking about the same men who didn't let New Zealand go beyond 188 in 4 innings.

Or didn't allow Pakisan to get over 300 apart from 1 occasion when Pakistan battled to 315-4 to save the test.

The same men who allowed the Windies a score of 408 once and the never more than 300 again.

Or who allowed Sehwag to smash 319 in an Indian total of over 600 but never let them cross 400 in the series again. In fact got them out for 76 as well.

Surely Steyn, Ntini, and Morkel have something more than pace.

Or is Lloyd correct?

If trends are anything to go by, both the Windies and the Indians got high scores of 408 and 627 in their 1st innings of the series - after that it was all Steyn, Ntini, and Morkel.

Shows what the English are in store for after their 593-8 in the 1st innings.

Aamer, Champions Trophy, etc.

Aamer Sohail has to be my favorite commentator/analyst, purely from an entertainment perspective. Every utterance has the potential to be a classic. Like this gem (taken from Cricinfo Quotes):

"Countries such as Australia and England are our allies in this war on terror, yet they are not supporting us here. Are we real allies or are we just being used?" Aamer Sohail, never short of radical comments that provoke a thought or two, on major teams' security concerns over playing in Pakistan

I'm hoping he was being at most semi-serious, but when it comes to Aamer Sohail, who knows!

Levity aside, I really do think the Champions Trophy will be shifted. Sure the Asia Cup went off successfully, but it's a smaller tournament, with simpler logistics, and less attractive "targets" for those who want to create chaos and attract attention. I'm almost 100% sure that if the tournament goes ahead, the safety of anyone involved with the tournament will not be compromised. However, a series of unrelated events in the country at the time could lead to a potential cancellation, or a pull-out, which would be even worse.

As much as I would like to see cricket played regularly in Pakistan, the situation is not great. A security assessment will be released in the next week and ICC/cricket boards will study it carefully. Regardless though, I think players will put enough pressure to ask for a change in venue. The recent events in Islamabad and Karachi don't help either, and anymore unfortunate events will make things even worse.

Finally, Pakistanis have also not really shown their thirst for cricket. The paltry crowds during the Asia Cup were embarrassing, even for most Pakistan games. I know this can be attributed to many reasons (heat, weekdays, lack of competition, etc), but still it is not encouraging.

So Sri Lanka (ICC's official backup venue) or South Africa (the self-appointed backup venue ;) may need to start preparing to host the tournament. I'm going to stay hopeful that it doesn't come to that, but reality is steadily sinking in.

Surprise Element

England's opening pair added over a 100 runs against Ntini, Steyn, and Morkel - surprising.

England didn't lose any wickets in the 1st session - even more surprising.

England lost 3 wickets in 3 overs - not surprising.

Vaughan was dismissed within 3 deliveries - not surprising.

Each of the openers lasted 130 odd deliveries - surprising.

Ian Bell is out scoring Kevin Pietersen - very surprising.

Bell and KP are finding Paul Harris difficult to get away - not surprising.

The Bloggers Influence!

We all know that it was Uncle J Rod's "David Hussey Petition" that led to Hussey's selection for the ODI leg of Australia's tour of the West Indies.

The fact that J Rod managed to convince Cricket Australia and Andrew Hilditch was an achievement and a half.

What we have witnessed today though is an achievement and 2 halves!

Ottayan, another one of the active members of the blogging faculty, has been able to convince no less than the president of a test playing country.

A few days ago, the ECB announced the dates of Sri Lanka's tour to England to fill-in for the Zimbabweans who were supposed to tour but are not welcome there anymore.

The dates of the tour clashed with the dates of Lalit Modi's 2nd season of the Indian Premier League, which were announced about 2 months ago.

This resulted in a number of reactions.

Some reported that the Sri Lankan players contracted to the IPL will boycott the tour to England.

Some suggested a 2nd string Sri Lankan side will tour England.

But there was one reaction that stood above all.

And that was Ottayan's, who suggested that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had back stabbed the BCCI by accepting to tour England on the dates that clashed with the IPL

Considering that it was the BCCI that bailed out the almost bankrupt SLC recently, Ottayan was probably right in saying that it was a stab in the back by SLC for sending its top cricketers to England instead of India next year.

Ottayan's reaction didn't go unnoticed.

In less than 24 hours, Mahinda Rajapakse, the President of Sri Lanka, has ordered Gamini Lokuge, the country's sports minister, to make sure that SLC either alters the dates of the tour to England or scrap the tour altogether.

Well done Ott. You sure have some influence.

Making a Full Circle...

Shoaib Akhtar, who did not get banned for late nights before a match morning, who did not get banned for testing positive for a banned drug, who did not get banned for hitting his team mate with a bat, but got banned for publicly critcizing the PCB, and is now waiting for a ruling from the Lahore High Court on his appeal to overturn the ban, has been...

Included in Pakistan's 30 probables for the Champions Trophy to be held in September.

Mohammad Asif, who did not get banned for testing positive for a banned drug, who remained sidelined due to elbow problems for over 6 months, who played the IPL with less than 100% fitness with his elbow in a brace, who got arrested and then let off after being caught red handed with opium in his wallet at the Dubai airport, who is all set to appear before a PCB 3-man committee for the dubai-drug act, has been...

Included in Pakistan's 30 probables for the Champions Trophy to be held in September.

Good News?

Great News!!!

Pakistan will actually have a REAL bowling attack for once.

Well ofcourse given that these 2 don't break down, hit each other, get caught with drugs in their bladders, or get caught conspiring to bomb the PCB between now and September.

It was the last Champions Trophy, 2 years ago, when Shoaib & Asif flew back to Pakistan because PCB's internal doping test results had shown traces of nandronolone in both the pacers samples.

Since then, both Shoaib & Asif have gone through a very rough period, and neither has featured regularly for Pakistan.

Doubts on their participation in this year's Champions Trophy still remain though.

Shoaib's 18-month ban has been suspended by the Lahore High Court, pending a ruling on his appeal.

While Asif is going to face PCB's 3-man committee who will question his drug smuggling act in Dubai.

However, given that the Chief Selector, Sallu Sahab, has announced that Shoaib and Asif will be included in the 30 probables to be announced tomorrow, I have reason to believe that the courts, committees, PCB, and all authorities concerned are yet again going to let the 2 pacers off scot-free one last time.

Champions Trophy '06 to Champions Trophy '08 - quite a full circle that is, not with smooth edges though. Its been a bumpy ride for them both!

Smith Wants Pietersen

England and South Africa have always been the 2 teams that I have never enjoyed watching - well England for their boring cricketers and South Africa for their wannabe Australia attitude.

Niether of these teams have the supreme talent that Australia possess, nor the gutso and aggression that the West Indies has.

Nor do they bring out the excitement of watching a team like Sri Lanka or New Zealand.

Nor do they create the emotional drama, at least for me, from watching a Pakistan or an India play.

Despite this, their upcoming series has me interested for more reason than one.

South Africa haven't won a test series in England since they came back to cricket about 2 decades ago, England's re-emerging pace attack, South Africa possessing arguably the most fearsome test pace attack in the world, Kallis being aggressive for a change, and KP vs Graeme Smith are just some of the reasons.

For those looking for any reason to watch the series, I think one doesn't need to go beyond the war between Kevin Pietersen and Graeme Smith.

Smith has started with the attacks.

"Kevin and I would get on a lot better if he kept his mouth shut."

The news for Smith is that, KP has decided to keep his mouth shut and instead he's going to put on some boxing gloves.

Earlier, KP was seen practicing a few punches to throw Smith's way.

Come to think of it, why does Smith want to "get on a lot better" with KP?

I wonder if Smith's new found love and brewing 'friendship' with Shane Warne has anything to do with his desire to get along with KP.

Why are you bored?

While a number of bloggers, mostly Indian, complain of too much cricket much like their ODI captain MS Dhoni, I can't get enough of it.

Since the IPL all the series' played have had something to watch out for.

There was the New Zealand fightback in the ODIs against England including the last ball win, KP's switch hits, Collingwood' mood swings, emergence of McCullum as a top order test batsman, England's excitement over Bopara, Strauss proving he is here to stay, Southee showing why he's the best thing to happen to NZ cricket for a long time.

There was the West Indies trying to compete against the Aussies in the tests, a younger Australian ODI side showing why they will remain one of the best sides for some time to come, another ODI that went to the last ball, a stunning 92 from Gayle, the exciting IPL opening combination of Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh, Johnson with the white ball, David Hussey finally making it to the ODI side and hinting at why he should have been there long before.

There was the short and sweet tri-series in Bangladesh where Pakistan against all odds defied India the trophy, Younis Khan's "silencing the critics" 100 in the final, India's largest victory over Pakistan ever.

There was the battle for the Asian supremacy, where Sri Lanka emerged champions on the back off yet another spinning freak, India failing in their 2nd successive final within weeks, Misbah's emergence as potential captain, Younis Khan's continued run of form, Sehwag and Gambhir's opening salvos, King Sanga at his best, Sanath Jayasuriya breaking down all age barriers, Amjad Ali showing the talent present in the UAE, Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rauf letting the selectors know how ignorant they have been, and Suresh Raina coming of age.

So why exactly have the cricket fans been bored?

I fail to understand.

And there's more to look forward to as the South Africans gear up to take on England and the Indian Seniors try to do to Sri Lanka what the juniors could not.

India Entering Danger Zone

There has been a lot of talk about how India will displace Australia as the next Super Power in the world of cricket.

I have also said a number of times that India is one of the strongest cricket sides in the world today, despite the fact that they recently lost 2 ODI finals.

After going through their squad for the test series against Sri Lanka, something struck me.

For India to displace Australia from the top, or for even to be one of the strongest sides in the world, they will have to take a leaf out of Australia's books.

Playing Test cricket and ODI cricket with a different set of players, and even a different set of captains.

India is going through a time where:

Their 4 best batsmen don't play ODI cricket. Well Sachin does, but he's opted out lately, while Ganguly, Dravid, and Laxman haven't let their desire to play ODIs remain a secret.

Their best ODI batsman and vice captain has just been dropped from the test side. Everybody knows how eager Yuvraj is to prove his worth in tests.

Their test captain does not play ODI cricket.

Their ODI captain has just stated his preference and chosen ODIs over tests.

Their newly announced Vice Captain for the test matches will play ODIs under a different captain and vice captain.

Now if all that does not mean treading on the path to Danger Zone, I don't know what does.

There is no doubt that India has one of the strongest sides in cricket today, for both tests and ODIs, but if they are to remain one, their test cricketers and ODI cricketers will have to gel well and adapt to playing under different captains, and with different players.

Australia has done that for a decade now.

I'm not sure if India will be able to.

The Seniors vs Juniors debate has done the rounds for almost a year now with Dhoni, Yuvraj, Uthappa, Ganguly, Kumble all giving voice to it.

Sehwag, who besides Sachin, is the only connection between India's test and ODI batsmen has reportedly been at loggerheads with Dhoni.

So if this is any indication for what is to come, the future could be quite destructive.

Rohit Sharma may not get a test match, but say he does, and say he scores a debut 100 and shows the world his mettle and attitude and what not in test cricket.

How would Yuvraj feel about that?

If this was Pakistan, I can say for sure that there would have been more than one incident of a player hitting another with a bat.

Is India over and above all this?

Will they self destruct like Pakistan would have in such a situation or will they follow Australia's example?

Time will tell.

No matter what the situation, the times ahead sure are interesting for Indian cricket.

Let Them!

Dhoni opted out of the test series against Sri Lanka, and the BCCI accepted.

No big deal really.

Dhoni was tired, he had played too much cricket - the 20-20 world cup, ODIs against Australia, Tests and ODIs against Pakistan, tests against Australia, the CB series, the IPL, the Kitply Cup, the Asia Cup - its been non stop for Dhoni for a long time now.

Wicketkeeping, batting, captaincy, dune buggying, he'd been doing it all.

So he deserves a break. He definitely does. And he's got it.

I have one worry though.

The fact that he's opted out of the tests and not the ODIs and the fact that he played through the IPL, despite not wicketkeeping due to injury, will bring out the knives from all those critics, players, former players, journalists, and everyone else who have been going on about how players in the future will cut short their careers to play in these 20-20 leagues.

There are many arguements here about how players will skip tests to play in the more financially lucrative 20-20 leagues.

One argument is that Dhoni knew what the schedule was going to be like for the year - he could have sat out the IPL.

Its not a worry to me though. Its Dhoni's choice. He's doing what he wants to do. He's too valuable to India, so he can do what he wants to do.

But shouldn't he be opting out of the ODIs? I'm not saying that, others are.

Well definitely not. He's the ODI captain after all. How can he give that seat to anyone else. He needs to marshall that ship.

As of how things stand today, Dhoni is a more vital cog in the ODI scheme things for India than he is for the tests.

So its fine really. Its not the end of the world.

Maybe he's telling the world that his priorities lie with ODIs and 20-20 and not tests.

Thats also fine, why is that a problem?

He doesn't want to play test cricket. Many players don't. There's nothing wrong with that is there?

Its the free market. Players will pick and choose what they want to play.

Let them!