Aakash Chopra

I like Aakash Chopra, as much for his temperament and technique as for his writing. I find his writing frank and honest. I wish he had a bigger role to play in this India tour than writing columns.

In 'Imagination, patience, luck' he talks about opening in tests and the challenges involved. And here he reminds the Indians to mind the famous Lord’s slope. After the first test he talks about the two lbws and analyzes them.

Learn from the best..

...is Ian Bell's mantra I would think. Read How I learned the craft.

The Warwickshire age-group coaches used to show us videos of great innings, and a fair number of them contained one Sachin masterclass after another. It was Steve Waugh for the mental stuff, Sachin for the technique. I especially remember an innings he played against Allan Donald, and we would be encouraged to do our best to absorb his genius and then go into the nets against the bowling machines and see what happened.

We love Wii

Read: Wii could top record-holding PS2

The Wii has outsold Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 monthly since its November launch, helped by its relatively affordable $250 price tag and a motion-sensing controller that can be swung like a bat, for instance. Instead of offering lifelike graphics to appeal to hard-core gamers, who are mostly men, Nintendo has appealed to an audience including women and the elderly with innovative but easy-to-play games.

I hope Sony hits back with better games and cheaper consoles. We love Wii, but we love the PS2 too.

No coffee for you!

After years of controversy and a protest mounted by one of China's most popular TV personalities Starbucks has finally closed its doors in Beijing's imperial palace. Read: Starbucks out of China's Forbidden City.

Quid Pro Quo

According to this story, Chinese food inspectors banned meat products from seven U.S. companies. The ban comes weeks after U.S. FDA bans Chinese seafood imports.

The suspension of meat imports from the American companies -- including Tyson Foods -- comes just weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it would hold all farm-raised catfish, basa, shrimp, dace and eel shipments arriving from China until they are tested for residues from drugs not approved by the U.S. for use in farm-raised fish. Xinhua quoted the head of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine calling the FDA action "unacceptable," and warning that "China, too, detects many substandard food products from the U.S."

In that case, I wonder why the China never detected any substandard food products from the US before the ban. All I can say is this is good for the average consumer. The stricter the inspection, the less chances we have of wolfing mercury for dinner. On a separate note read: Chinese tonight?

Spare me the Junk

Save upto 15% - Act now! (LCDs to coffee makers)
Rapid weightloss without a prescription (variations: your pharmacy order, order # etc)
Refinance your house at a low rate! (Need cash?, 0% APR through 2050, earn $10K per month working from home etc)
Supersize it! (variations: add 4 inches, Viagra, be better in bed, satisfy your partner etc.)
Pictures of hot singles (find a “partner”, horny singles etc)

Looks familiar? My “bulk” folder in Yahoo is driving me nuts. Hotmail aptly calls it the “Junk” folder. Apart from the annoyance of seeing hundreds of spam emails in my “bulk” folder, I have the added inconvenience of losing some personal email which ends up in that folder. I have wondered long and hard about who sends these spam emails! I am supposed to believe that the only heir to the king of Nigeria has emailed me and asked me for my bank account number so he could transfer $5 million immediately? Seriously, I have yet to meet a person who has refinanced his mortgage or added 4 inches by clicking on a spam email. Apparently there are thousands of scammers and phishers, hoping you click on their spam emails and links and do to you what you were hoping to do to those hot singles.

According to a survey, here are the different types of spam categories (in terms of % of total spam)
Products 25%
Financial 20%
Adult 19%
Scams 9%
Health 7%
Internet 7%
Leisure 6%
Spiritual 4%
Other 3%

Some more interesting statistics: there are 2.5 billion porn emails sent daily. 28% of people reply to spam email and 8% users purchase from spam email.

Finally, some action for the virgins.

Here is an incentive to embrace abstinence and preserve your virginity. You could get free theater tickets in NYC -- if you're a virgin. Running out of tickets shouldn’t be a problem for the producer of the show.

"There are a limited number of 'virgin tickets' available," he said. "However, there are not that many virgins in New York City."

No kidding.

Timing is everything

Miss NJ Revealed Alleged Blackmail Photos showing her “not in a ladylike manner.” Poor girl was probably being haunted by her conscience. Or Donald Trump. In any case, the pictures were hardly obscene. Not that it matters, because you see, timing is everything. You get famous and then leak a sex tape.

Chinese tonight?

According to this story on CNN, chopped cardboard, softened with an industrial chemical and flavored with fatty pork and powdered seasoning, is a main ingredient in batches of steamed buns sold in one Beijing neighborhood.

The next time you say “this food tastes like cardboard” you might just be right. Which reminds me, you also have to stop saying “this coffee tastes like piss.” Careful what you wish for. And on a separate note – no green tea for me, thank you.

Rafael Nadal

Read Nadal’s Blog. Interesting to say the least. One thing is for sure – like McEnroe said, Nadal definitely earned a lot of respect and fans for his performance.

I am not going to go into details, into what I felt, into my thoughts, into the whole thing. I am just going to say I have great memories of these 2 weeks. I think I improved, I learned things, I played good matches, difficult ones, and I got to the final again. What happened in the final has been already written a lot, analyzed and said. The only thing I am going to say is that I was sad, very sad to lose the final since I thought I could have won it. Roger is the best, we know that, but I had my chances yesterday. It's over now and it's better for me not to think about it anymore (but it is difficult!).

The Wimbledon Final and the small matter of a shaving cream

We are fortunate enough to witness a terrific rivalry between Federer-Nadal which can only get more interesting in the days to come. Federer looked relieved after the match which could have gone either way. But then champions have this uncanny knack of stepping it up when it matters the most – which was exemplified by the way Federer fought back twice when down 15-40 on his own serve in the 5th set to elope with the trophy. But all was well as Bjon Borg pretended to be happy for Federer just like the Duke pretended to be genuinely interested in the private lives of the ball boys and girls.

But as far as I am concerned, Wimbledon 2007 will not be remembered for the high quality of tennis on display. It will be remembered for the Gillette ad featuring Tiger Woods, Thierry Henry and Roger Federer. Is it just me or was this commercial a little gay? (Not that there is anything wrong with it – Seinfeld). I think the media is getting carried away with this Woods-Federer friendship. I mean, here are two champions, dominating their sports like nobody’s business and instead of understanding and appreciating their friendship and respect towards each other, we have some interviewer asking Federer after the semifinals whether he bought Tiger a gift! WTF! It’s like they are lovers or something. Maybe in the next commercial we can have Federer shaving Tiger's head.

Shaving creams apart, I consider myself extremely lucky to have watched Sachin Tendulkar play cricket, Pete Sampras play tennis, Maradona play soccer, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan play basketball, and Tiger Woods play golf. I think Roger Federer is well into this group now and I sincerely think he could be the best tennis player ever. Unless of course he decides to promote Gillette Venus.

The Magnificent Seven

Here is the list of the new 7 wonders of the world.

Great Wall of China

The 4,160-mile barricade in northern China is the longest man-made structure in the world. The fortification, which largely dates from the 7th through the 4th century BC, was built to protect the dynasties from the Huns, Mongols, Turks and other nomadic tribes.

Colosseum, Italy

The 50,000-seat amphitheater in Rome was inaugurated in AD 80 by the Emperor Titus in a ceremony of games lasting 100 days. The Colosseum, which has influenced the design of modern sports stadiums, was an arena where thousands of gladiators dueled to the death.

Taj Mahal, India

The white marble-domed mausoleum in Agra was built by Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan from 1632 to 1654 to honor his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth.

Petra, Jordan

The ancient city of Petra in southwestern Jordan, built on a terrace around the Valley of Moses, is famous for its water tunnels and stone structures carved in rock.

Christ the Redeemer Statue, Brazil

The 125-foot-tall statue of Christ the Redeemer with outstretched arms overlooks Rio de Janeiro from atop Mt. Corcovado. The statue, which weighs more than 1,000 tons, was built by Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski in pieces in France starting in 1926, then shipped to Brazil.

Machu Picchu, Peru

Built by the Inca Empire in the 15th century, the giant walls, palaces, temples and dwellings of the Machu Picchu sanctuary are perched in the clouds at nearly 8,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains.

Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico

The majestic step-pyramid surmounted by a temple is one of several structures in the city, one of the greatest Maya centers on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. The pyramid is built according to the solar calendar so shadows cast at the fall and spring equinoxes appear like a snake crawling down its steps.

For more info, check http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php

Message in a Bottle

I have never quite grasped the concept of bottled water. Why not drink tap water or use those simple filters that can be attached to your tap? Is it ‘cool’ to drink bottled water? Safer? Purer? Convenient? Tastier? I remember when I used to go out on hikes, we used to drink flowing spring water in the mountains. The purest water you could drink – our group leaders used to say – and we drank it, enjoying the cool, pure water, not worrying about the ‘nutritional facts label’ or the fact that someone could be peeing in it upstream. Point is, I think it’s all a matter of perspective. What’s the need for bottled water? Especially in areas where you get perfectly safe drinking water right through your tap.What started out as a mildly irritating topic for me (because of the false lavishness and wastefulness involved) is a much bigger issue than I had imagined. Bottled water is a $15 billion industry in the US and about $50 billion world wide. Read an interesting piece ‘Message in a Bottle.‘ Some mind numbing excerpts:

Thirty years ago, bottled water barely existed as a business in the United States. Last year, US spent more on Poland Spring, Fiji Water, Evian, Aquafina, and Dasani than it spent on iPods or movie tickets - $15 billion. It will be $16 billion this year.

This is huge! So why do we drink bottled water so much? Is it safer? Purer?

Pepsi (NYSE:PEP) has the nation's number-one-selling bottled water, Aquafina, with 13% of the market. Coke's (NYSE:KO) Dasani is number two, with 11% of the market. Both are simply purified municipal water--so 24% of the bottled water we buy is tap water repackaged by Coke and Pepsi for our convenience. You can buy a half- liter Evian for $1.35--17 ounces of water imported from France for pocket change. In San Francisco, the municipal water comes from inside Yosemite National Park. It's so good the EPA doesn't require San Francisco to filter it. If you bought and drank a bottle of Evian, you could refill that bottle once a day for 10 years, 5 months, and 21 days with San Francisco tap water before that water would cost $1.35.

My tennis buddy always drinks Propel ‘Fitness’ Water (by Gatorade) when we play – you guessed it – tennis. Other times, he will usually grab an Aquafina. He obviously thinks drinking ‘Propel’ will somehow help him play better or at the very least hydrate him better than ‘regular’ water. If you need better stamina, how about running a few miles daily? Or better yet, how about you STOP SMOKING? But it’s amazing how the advertisements, branding, marketing can get in your head. There is startling level of thought and analysis involved.

Aquafina marketing vice president Ahad Afridi says his team has done the research to understand what kind of water drinkers we are. They've found six types, including the "water pure-fectionist"; the "water explorer"; the "image seeker"; and the "struggler" ("they don't really like water that much...these are the people who have a cheeseburger with a diet soda").

Impressed? I am. And let’s check out its impact on the environment. Surprise, surprise! Bottled water is bad for the environment

Bottled water wastes fossil fuels and water in production and transport, and when the water is drunk the bottles become a major source of waste. It takes more than 47 million gallons of oil to produce plastic water bottles for Americans every year. Eliminating those bottles would be like taking 100,000 cars off the road and 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Each one of those bottles required nearly five times its volume in water to manufacture the plastic and may have caused the release of nickel, ethylene oxide, and benzene. Then, rather than being recycled, 86 percent of them are thrown away. Breaking down these plastics can take thousands of years, while their components seep into our water supplies. The Fiji Water plant is a state-of-the-art facility that runs 24 hours a day spins out more than a million bottles daily. That means it requires an uninterrupted supply of electricity--something the local utility structure cannot support. So the factory supplies its own electricity, with three big generators running on diesel fuel. The water may come from "one of the last pristine ecosystems on earth," as some of the labels say, but out back of the bottling plant is a less pristine ecosystem veiled with a diesel haze.

So what’s the Message in a Bottle?

Bottled water is not a sin. But it is a choice. Packing bottled water in lunch boxes, grabbing a half-liter from the fridge as we dash out the door, piling up half-finished bottles in the car cup holders--that happens because of a fundamental thoughtlessness. It's only marginally more trouble to have reusable water bottles, cleaned and filled and tucked in the lunch box or the fridge. We just can't be bothered. And in a world in which 1 billion people have no reliable source of drinking water, and 3,000 children a day die from diseases caught from tainted water, that conspicuous consumption of bottled water that we don't need seems wasteful, and perhaps cavalier.

Once you understand the resources mustered to deliver the bottle of water, it's reasonable to ask as you reach for the next bottle, not just "Does the value to me equal the 99 cents I'm about to spend?" but "Does the value equal the impact I'm about to leave behind?"

My personal opinion – in areas where the drinking water is safe, bottled water is simply an unnecessary waste that could be easily avoided.

On a lighter note, read ‘My carbon footprint’.

Women don't talk more than men…

…just more often.
…just more nonsense.

…it just feels that way.

…they bitch more.
…but who is listening?

Oh, I could go on, but can’t really risk it with all the women in my life. Jokes apart, the verdict is in: Women don't really talk more.

Pennebaker and colleagues analyzed recorded conversations of 396 university students ages 18-29 in the USA and Mexico, including 210 women and 186 men. The study didn't look at vocabulary or word use, but rather word count via an electronically activated recorder that researchers developed and refined during the study, conducted between 1998 and 2004. He says two-thirds of participants spoke 11,000 to 25,000 words a day, with the average for both sexes about 16,000.

For the new research, study participants spent an average 17 waking hours wearing a lapel microphone attached to a cord linking it to the recording device, generally hidden underneath their clothes. Initial data collection used a tape recorder, then as technology progressed, a digital recorder, and finally a pocket PC no bigger than a cellphone. Participants typically wore the recorders for designated periods that lasted anywhere from two to 10 days. The recorder was programmed to record for 30 seconds every 12.5 minutes, so users didn't know when it was on or off and they could not control.

Dilip Sardesai

Former India Test batsman Dilip Sardesai died in Mumbai after suffering a multiple organ failure. He was 66. For a warm tribute to this great player read: Playing with head and heart

Dilip Sardesai's peers paid glowing tributes

Incidentally read Faroukh Engineer’s "tribute"

He was a very defensive batsman, though technically correct than me. But he would always ask me how I could manage to hit boundaries and sixes. I would get sometimes frustrated at his inability to rotate the strike as he couldn't drop the bat and take the single which I did. He would sort of plead, "I'm trying". But he was a lovely opening partner, and just like my other opening partner Sunil Gavaskar, he had tremendous confidence and patience.

Correct me if I am wrong, but Faroukh’s verbal diarrhea doesn’t exactly sound like a tribute to Dilip Sardesai. Is it that difficult to say a couple of nice things about a guy who has passed on? Is it that difficult to focus on somebody else for a minute? Maybe Faroukh was excited on getting a call from a reporter.

Rest in peace Dilip Sardesai.

99, 93

SRT scored 99 and 93 in his last two innings vs South Africa in Ireland. His 99 was a fighting knock in bowler friendly conditions while his 93 was an attacking thoroughly enjoyable knock where he used the pull shot with great effect against the quicks Ntini and Nel. And while his critics either have their feet stuck firmly in their mouth, or are busy writing sunny reports about the ‘return’ of the master batsman, the fact remains that we was never ‘gone.’ He has always been a consistent performer, an unselfish team player, a thorough gentleman on and off the field, playing with the same enthusiasm that he played with 17 years ago. Nothing pleases me more than the sight of SRT raising his bat towards the pavilion.

For the statistically inclined, check this post in cricinfo: 15000 and counting. Some excerpts and my take:
When Sachin Tendulkar reached his fifty in the second ODI against South Africa, he went past another milestone in a career chequered with record-breaking moments. Tendulkar became the first batsman to accumulate 15,000 runs in ODIs - he was the first to 10,000 runs as well. In the 189 ODI innings he has played when India has won, Tendulkar has scored 9061 runs at an average of 56.98, with a strike-rate of 89.72, all figures higher than his overall average. Which means his contribution has been vital for India wins. Conversely, India wins if SRT performs well.
He averages 47.96 in 36 finals (of tournaments involving three teams or more). Which means the weak argument that some critics present that he is not a big match player is horse shit. He averages 89.10 at a strike-rate of nearly 100 when the team has won in a final. Which could mean, the only time that we have probably won a tournament final is thanks to SRT.

Bald eagle soars off endangered list

Bald eagle soars off endangered list. Also read: Bald Eagles No Longer Endangered, U.S. Says

Today there are nearly 10,000 bald eagles in the contiguous 48 states, compared to a documented 417 in 1963 when the bird was on the verge of extinction everywhere except in Alaska and Canada where it has continued to thrive.

The eagle is my favorite bird. I am extraordinarily fascinated by them. Look at these pics. Aren’t they magnificent?

All pics are from www.baldeagleinfo.com.

Here is some interesting info:
The bald eagle was chosen June 20, 1782 as the emblem of the United States of American, because of its long life, great strength and majestic looks, and also because it was then believed to exist only on this continent. Incidentally, while the eagle has been officially recognized as America's national bird, there have been dissenters who feel the bird was the wrong choice. Benjamin Franklin wrote:

I wish that the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country, he is a bird of bad moral character, he does not get his living honestly, you may have seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the fishing-hawk, and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to its nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes it from him.... Besides he is a rank coward; the little kingbird, not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest. . . of America.. . . For a truth, the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America . . . a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards, who should presume to invade his farmyard with a red coat on.

The TURKEY? Just so that we are on the same page, and there is absolutely no room for error, this is the bird Benjamin Franklin is talking about.

Sigh...

For more pictures and info on the Bald Eagle check this link.

Bong hits 4 Jesus

Anybody follow the Bong hits 4 Jesus case?
The Supreme Court ruled against a former high school student Monday in the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner case -- a split decision that limits students' free speech rights. Joseph Frederick was 18 when he unveiled the 14-foot paper sign on a public sidewalk outside his Juneau, Alaska, high school in 2002. Principal Deborah Morse confiscated it and suspended Frederick. He sued, taking his case all the way to the nation's highest court. The justices ruled that Frederick's free speech rights were not violated by his suspension over what the majority's written opinion called a "sophomoric" banner.

What I find funny is that this incident happened in 2002. Frederick is halfway across the globe, teaching English to students in China. Now 24, he told reporters in March that he displayed the banner in a deliberate attempt to provoke a response from principal Morse, by whom he had been disciplined previously. But Frederick claimed his message of free speech is very important to him, even if the wording of the infamous banner itself was not. "I find it absurdly funny," he said. "I was not promoting drugs. ... I assumed most people would take it as a joke."

Yeah, well you shouldn’t have sued then.

Feeling Blue

JetBlue Airways founder and Chairman David Neeleman admitted Tuesday that he wasn't pleased when his company's board forced him to give up the CEO spot in May, and said he believes he'd still have the job if not for the ice storm and service meltdown that hit the airline in February

Strange are the boardroom machinations. I do understand such decisions are taken in the ‘best interests of the stockholders’ and considering the competitiveness of the corporate world, the decision may be right. What bothers me is that he is the founder of the company. For me, it’s like saying, “Thanks for designing and building this wonderful vehicle that we are all riding in. We just don’t want you driving it anymore.”

Aint no sunshine when she’s gone…

I am always perplexed by the amount of print space Paris Hilton occupies. Anyway, this is what Smoke Signals has to say about the whole charade of sending her to prison and the unnecessary media attention.

CNN—the most trusted name in news noise—covers CNN covering Paris Hilton— who was thrown in jail for being a drunk, then released after just five days inside because the LA county sheriff ‘feared for her condition’. News, clearly, of such paramount importance, that CNN decided to dump an interview with Michael Moore, maker of a movie on the American health industry, to make room for the ditz with more money than sense.

The iPhone and all that jazz

Are you ready for the iPhone launch? Check out the cost associated with owning an iPhone. And here is a hilarious document that AT&T is circulating.

Can’t wait to get your hands on one? For $100 to $300, you can pay someone to stand in line for you outside a local Apple or AT&T retail store.

The reviews raise some expected complaints. Surfing the Web on AT&T's Edge network is sloooooow, and its cell phone service is unreliable. (Pogue: "If Verizon's slogan is, "Can you hear me now?" AT&T's should be, "I'm losing you.") USA Today's Edward Baig, attempting to demonstrate the iPhone live on CNBC, couldn't get Internet access. The iPhone is also missing some features, such as voice dialing and voice recognition. And although it has a built-in camera, you can't send pictures to other cell phones. (You can send it via e-mail, but only if the other cell phone can receive e-mail and photo attachments.)

Market challenges you ask?

Further, the phone's starting price tag of $499 is also a deterrent, especially considering the features that consumers typically look for in cell phone. In fact, only 1 percent, or 2.6 million of mobile phone subscribers said their next cell would have to have e-mail access, Internet, and the ability to play music and video, according to a survey conducted last year by Forrester Research Inc.

Another potential hindrance is Apple's exclusive carrier agreement with AT&T. In order to get the phone, customers who use other service providers will have to either shell out money to break a contract or pay for more than one contract. In a survey of 465 people conducted by IDC, 60 percent of respondents said they were interested in the iPhone but were not likely to buy one in the near future because of its price tag and the costs associated with switching carriers.

And while the iPhone is expected to be popular in the consumer market, it faces serious challenges in the corporate world - at least initially.For security purposes, companies have so far been hesitant to outfit the phone with the software that allows other devices like the BlackBerry and Treo to sync with corporate e-mail systems. Apple is expected at some point to release a business version of the iPhone, but it's not clear when that would be available.

There are always other options.

If you're ready to spend at least $500 for a cell phone, what else should you consider? In the $500 to $800 price range is the Prada-branded cell phone from LG and the HTC Touch; both also feature a touch screen. German says the Nokia N95 is a "really powerful smart phone" with a 5-megapixel built-in camera (the iPhone's camera is 2 megapixels); it also has a music player, e-mail capabilities and "other productivity applications." And if what you want is a phone that does double-duty as an mp3 player, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia all have phones that fit the bill.

I would rather wait for the second generation phone, when the bugs are resolved, the competitors have launched their versions, and the prices have been slashed.

Riding the coaster?

For all you grown ups looking for reasons to stick to the kiddie rides when in Six Flags, here is an unfortunate incident you can cite to justify your fear - Girl horribly injured on Six Flags ride

Story Highlights:
• Injured girl in stable condition in Nashville, Tennessee, hospital family says

• Girl's feet were severed on ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville

• Authorities, hospital declined to say whether her feet were reattached

• Family says no one from park has contacted them; park disputes that account

FYI - there were more than 15,000 amusement ride-related injuries in 2005 in the U.S. From 1987 to 2000, there were an estimated 4.5 amusement ride-related deaths per year.

For the curious few, here is a report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Caught with your pants down?

For every Shilpa Shetty – Richard Gere episode in India, you have ‘the case of the missing pants’ in the US. “Justice prevailed” as the dry cleaner won in the $54M pants case.

Incidentally, if this reminds you of the famous McDonalds coffee lawsuit, here is where you can get your facts right.

Ireland ODIs

The general opinion about the ODIs in Ireland has been that it’s a waste of time in an already jammed Indian cricket calendar. But one man’s poison is another man’s candy. Ireland captain Trent Johnston says this weekend's one-day internationals against India and South Africa are of "vital importance to Irish cricket". I agree. It will definitely help promote the game in Ireland and generate some interest in the next generation cricketers.
Andrew White's only quibble? "I think the unions have got it wrong on this occasion. It should be a closed Saturday throughout Ireland because it will probably be the only time cricketers here will get the chance to see Tendulkar batting against Ireland."

The Cost of War

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. – Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

The cost of war in Iraq (for the US) is $436 billion and rising. I am curious to know how this cost is calculated. How is the price of a loved one’s death calculated? Is this “price” baked in to this “cost of war”? More than 3800 Coalition troops and anywhere from 65,000 to 70,000 Iraqis have lost their lives in this war. You know when it really hits you? When you put a face to the number…

Apologies to all.

Rushdie was knighted by the Queen for his services to literature. When I think of knights, I think of armored warriors on majestic stallions with weapons a little mightier than the pen. Anyway, I would think with this knighthood, his fans would be happy, his critics would congratulate him while cleverly slipping in some snide comments, the Queen would ask her PR guy - again - what is it that Rushdie did exactly before commending him on his achievements and knighting him, Rushdie would be “thrilled and humbled,” and change his business cards to read Sir Salman Rushdie, people like me who don’t give a rat’s tailed behind would read about it and move on to the sports section.

If only life were this easy. Apparently the knighthood scratched some itchy areas. Pakistan and Iran condemned the British knighthood, there were diplomatic and political protests, anger, fatwas, death threats, burning of effigies (this never gets old), well you get the picture.

Here is the scary part though. Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Mohammad Ejaz-ul-Haq said that the knighthood could be used to justify suicide bombings!

Religious Affairs Minister Mohammad Ejaz-ul-Haq again said his comments on Monday, that the knighthood could be used to justify suicide bombings, were not meant to incite violence. But he said it was a fact that the honor could motivate potential suicide bombers, and added that the knighthood should be withdrawn and Britain should apologize to all Muslims.

I don’t know about the UK, but I apologize to Mohammad Ejaz-ul-Haq, and all the Muslims in the world for anything I may or may not have done.

Bedi's Doosra

Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something.

Bedi – a great left arm orthodox spinner in his time – certainly talks… a lot. So here he is making his trademark controversial statement of the month. Gavaskar a 'destructive' influence - Bishan Bedi.

This is the same Bedi, who in 1990, had a brief stint as coach of the Indian national team. He was the first person to be appointed to this job in a full-time capacity. Following one cricket tour where India had played poorly, he famously threatened to dump the entire team in the sea on the return journey.

His past verbal diarrheas include: Muralitharan looks like a good javelin thrower and ‘Chucking is a bigger threat than bribing or betting.'

I know being a celebrity is not easy – especially with the millions most of them make, but I would expect them to stick to their core competency. If you are a sportsman, play your sport and leave the media to your spokesperson.

Want more? Read: The malaise of bitterness

Invited on stage at the Wisden International Awards to present a special achievement award for the Australian team to their coach John Buchanan, Bedi started by asking Buchanan provocatively whether he considered Wisden really to be the Bible of cricket. He then repeated a statement by Ian Chappell questioning the role of the coach in cricket, before lobbing down this arm-ball: "Tell us, John, have you made this Australian team great, or have they made you?" Buchanan had the grace to deal with the situation, and the hostess had the wit to intervene and ask Bedi to get on with the job.

See what I mean?

Quantifying love

So you think some things in life can’t be measured? Read “The price of loved one's death.” Here is the clincher though: Economists say they hope it will provide legal courts with a way to more fairly award damages.

I will have $100 worth of love this weekend please. And while we are at it, could we also serve $500 worth of shame to the BCCI?

Fredalo, Shredalo.

But looks like Indian cricket is not the only laughing stock of the world. Read this sequence of events.

Fredalo wrecked World Cup - Vaughan (June 5)

"I didn't captain as well as I should've done because of the pressure I put myself under. I'd admit that. But I couldn't switch off because away from the field there was so much going on - with Bob Woolmer and 'Fredalo'."

So basically, Vaughan is blaming England’s poor performance, his wretched form, and poor captaincy on Woolmer and Flintoff.

Cumbes (Chief Executive of Lancashire) says Vaughan's comments 'despicable' (June 5)

"I think it is completely out of order, I think it's despicable, I think it stinks against a guy (Flintoff) who has given blood for England these past three or four years," Cumbes said. "He was the talisman in the Ashes series in 2005...this fella has given blood for England and I think it is appalling he's been treated in this fashion."

Note that Flintoff has “given blood” for England. Use the same words (like blood, sweat, service etc) with Indian players and we talk about the fat paychecks they receive.


Vaughan claims he was misquoted over Flintoff (June 6)

"I never used the word 'Fredalo'," said Vaughan. "As soon as you mention that, you are pinpointing one person. I'll be having dinner with him in an hour's time. It [the article] has been blown out of all proportion. One word changed the whole context of the article, a word which I didn't say."

This I didn’t expect. Especially when the reporter was sitting in front of him with a recorder the size of his brain. Or maybe that’s the reason he didn’t see it.


And here is the clincher.
Paper defends itself over Vaughan 'misquotes' (June 7)

But the paper's recording of the interview between Vaughan and the journalist Donald McRae shows Vaughan did use the word "Fredalo" to describe Flintoff's capsizing of a pedalo after a night of drinking in St Lucia. After Vaughan said that incidents affected the morale of the team, McRae said: "Was it ... ?" Vaughan replied: "Fredalo. It's bound to affect team spirit." He is also heard to use the term a second time later in the conversation.

Surprisingly, the English media mentioned Vaughan’s suspect memory of his choice of words and moved on with their lives. No sting operations, no headlines, no chaos, no talk about factions within the team, no issues with seniors, no dressing room gossip, no mud slinging, no destroying reputations. What a bore.

The Witch Hunt continues...

This is too funny to comment on...

Graham Ford to be India's next coach Jun 9, 2007
Ford turns down India job June 11, 2007
Another day, another crisis June 11, 2007
Emburey rules himself out of India's search for a coach June 12, 2007
Borde appointed manager for England tour June 12, 2007
BCCI surprised by Ford snub: Shah June 14, 2007

Why Emburey?

Mukul Kesavan couldn’t have done a better job of summing it up for all the perplexed individuals like me.

It's your way of saying to the team: "You're so slavishly fixated on the idea of a foreign coach that you'd pick a lamp post over over an Indian. So here's your lamp post."

Dileep Premchandran calls this a no-contest.

On the surface, it's as unequal a contest as Mike Tyson against Carl "The Truth" Williams. One man with 16 Test wins and eight losses (five of them to that team under the Southern Cross) pitted against another who failed to hack it as county coach. Saturday's meeting should be a formality then? Not quite. This is India, and the team could still end up saddled with a coach who's the cricketing equivalent or worse of Steve McClaren.

You can’t handle the truth!

A lie told often enough becomes the truth. – Lenin.

Former ICC president Ehsan Mani would sure be hoping so. I am a big proponent of keeping your stupidity to yourself, but Mani recently announced – publicly – that the 2007 World Cup was the best. I waited a week – in vain – for another press release from Mani apologizing for insulting our intelligence

In case you missed the World Cup fiasco:

1. Awesome Australia but awful organising

2. Barbados taxpayers foot bill for finale - Closing ceremony cost US$750,000.

3. Speed apologises for light chaos

4. Pure ignorance

Organisation ...or lack of
The quotes speak for themselves
"Malcolm has been living in Dubai for too long. As I've said before, they've got a hotel under the sea there and a ski resort in the desert. It's too far away from reality."Ian Chappell lashes out at Malcolm Speed for turning a blind eye on some obvious issues about hosting the World Cup in the West Indies

"We had to rely on the advice of the local organising committee to establish the prices of the tickets. It is, in retrospect, a little too rich for the local palate." Malcolm Speed washes the ICC's hands of responsibility for empty stands throughout the World Cup. Others weren't so convinced.

"This has been a World Cup for the organisers, the visitors and the players but certainly not for the people. That's why the stadiums are empty and that in itself is a con job. It's the biggest con job ever passed off in this region." Jack Warner, the head of the Caribbean's footballing fraternity, takes a swipe at the World Cup

"I thought Aleem was having a bit of a joke with us when he said it looks like we'd have to come back tomorrow and play three overs. I said: 'Mate, we've played the 20 overs, we've actually finished the game.'" Ricky Ponting on the final's farcical finish that just about summed up the tournament.

The Indian Which Hunt

Which candidate to go with is the multi-million dollar question facing the BCCI. Whatmore – with all his obvious interest for this job, which he made amply clear through the media, public, players, and post-it notes – was surprisingly left out of the race. Lets face it, the man has the necessary credentials. Anyway, that googly aside, now it’s down to two candidates, John Emburey and Graham Ford. Obviously “The One” will find the perfect opening combination, smack Sehwag on his balding head every time he has a fling (outside the off stump), fix Irfan’s bowling (just how the heck can you “forget” how to swing the ball beats me), fix the “senior” problems, teach Ganguly how to play the short stuff or get him – and the entire city of Calcutta – a nice retirement package, give Dravid a spine and some imagination, explain Yuvraj twice a day that he is not a super star yet, keep Bhajji out of the team till he looks like he might get a wicket, beat Australia in Australia, make the Indian team unbeatable, win the next three world cups, and live happily ever after.

Read this article on Cricinfo: Emburey – a surprise choice.

His lack of success at two counties, and the rather similar manner in which both roles ended, suggested that his future contribution will be away from direct day-to-day first-team coaching. All that makes India's interest surprising, unless all they were merely seeking to add substance to a one-horse race.

I have a queasy feeling about this whole selection process… What I would give to be a fly on the wall when the committee interviews the candidates!

Change is good.

Or bad. But mostly, change is just change. Anyway, there are some proposed changes to the game. The ICC will decide whether to implement these measures. More and more rules favoring the batsmen. Personally I like the idea of placing 3 fielders outside the circle in 2 powerplays. Also, the batting captain choosing a powerplay sounds exciting. I would think most of the captains would want to block the 45-50 over slot so they have their sloggers in with only 3 fielders outside the ring. With players like Dhoni, Afridi and Symonds on the international scene, we will need some lively bowlers to bowl in the ‘death’ overs.

Also read: ‘Spare a thought for the bowlers.’

And again..

The 37th.

He is back...

The 36th.

Watch Watch Wal-Mart Watch

Wal-Mart’s policies and business practices have always been under the scanner. They haven’t found many supporters in labor unions, religious groups, environmental organizations etc. Areas of concern include the corporation's extensive foreign product sourcing, treatment of employees and product suppliers, environmental practices, the use of public subsidies, the impact of stores on the local economies of towns in which they operate, and the company's security policies.

In 2005, labor unions created several organizations to confront these issues, including Wake Up Wal-Mart (United Food and Commercial Workers) and Wal-Mart Watch (Service Employees International Union). Now there is a website called “watching Wal-Mart watch” to well, watch Wal-Mart watch. This blog is my attempt to watch ‘watch Wal-Mart watch’. So I might not actually end up watching ‘watching Wal-Mart watch’ but it was funny as hell typing watch watch Wal-Mart watch. MS Word almost blew up on me. I love irritating MS word. Sigh. Now we sit back and – you guessed it – watch.

Get a divorce!

You heard me. "Life's short. Get a divorce"

Have you noticed that in this world of marketing and advertising, people will do anything to get noticed. When I first read this, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. The obvious thing to say would be on the lines of ‘lawyers have no scruples’, ‘the trouble with law is lawyers’ etc. But when you think about it, is that line really out of line? I have heard of people getting a divorce because of their pets! Here is what I see in the ad – Life is too short (which is true), so don’t put up with crap you don’t have to (Hey, that’s an option!). Get a divorce. And now that you have decided to get one, here are our (conveniently placed) numbers. Call us (since we were the ones who put that idea in your head anyway. And heck this is our billboard you are reading). And in case you are still undecided, here are some pics of perfectly chiseled half naked people. Why go home to the fat and cellulite when you could not be going to these chiseled bodies?

Or maybe there is this satisfied marketing exec going, “Ha! Made you look!” Ah well, life is too short.

Brian Lara retires from ODIs

“You tell me” – Brian Lara a few months ago on being asked when he would retire.

WI has lost all 4 of their super 8 matches so far. As is the norm, just about everybody – from fans to past cricketing greats – is screaming for Lara’s blood.

For instance:
Joel Garner calls for Lara to quit
Michael Holding urges Lara to quit

Well, guess what? Lara retires from ODIs after the world cup. Now we will have the same people writing about how he is the best batsman in the world and why he shouldn’t retire. Yet another example of not appreciating something when you have it and longing for it once it’s gone.

Paris Hilton and Britney Spears

Amusing stuff this by Osman Samiuddin who has a tendency to go over the top

It’s strange, in fact, how India and Pakistan resemble each other so. On the field, there has been a spooky sameness; results and performances in South Africa were nearly identical, the Champions Trophy and World Cup, both failures. Both batting line-ups struggle in alien conditions, as fielders both are poor and both leaders increasingly embattled and embittered. Both now rebuild. Off it, they are cricket's Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. One, pure monied trash, influential for no other reason than having too much of it, the other straight-up trailer trash, cricket's true basket case. They are tabloid fodder, stumbling from one front page to another: religion, player factionalism, spats, coaching intrigues, politicking, doping and even possible murder. How much of the news that you have read about these two sides recently has been about their cricket?

Personally, I think the difference between India and Pakistan is that between a briefcase and a suitcase. A small briefcase and a BIG suitcase.

The Great Escape

Ford recalls 527,000 Escape SUVs

Engine fires in 2001-2004 models linked to corrosion on antilock brake connectors. Missing or incorrectly installed wiring harness seals on the Escape's antilock brake connector could allow water and other contaminates such as brake fluid or road salt to enter the ABS connector causing corrosion.

That will hurt the already beleaguered auto giant. Or maybe they will cut a few thousand jobs and get on with life. Why? Because they can.

On a separate note: Ford CEO earns $28M for 4 months work.
Another ‘unrelated’ article: Toyota's Sales Jump While GM, Ford Fall

Dravid's Bangladeshi fans

And here is why Bangladeshis can't stop singing Dravid’s praises. That’s the difference between a good player and a great player. Playing the game like it should be played – in the right spirit.

Putting things in perspective

Read an article which talks about how batsmen are instructed to lift their bats towards the pavilion each time they crack a fifty to ensure adequate TV exposure for the brand plastered on it as well as twirl around to allow enough time for photographers to capture the image. Bats are also not hung down when a player walks to the pavilion after a good knock as he has instructions to wave it to the crowd and the cameras milking additional publicity. The longer the time spent and more the runs scored all have performance based clauses which influence the way the batsman behaves out in the field. Personally, I don’t care and don’t understand what the big deal is. It’s not like this “behavior” is affecting the way they play. But since the media is after the Indian cricketer’s throats right now, maybe this following story might help put things in perspective…

Apparently the British captive soldiers (now released) are making money by telling their stories to the media. The controversial decision taken by the Ministry of Defence to allow the fifteen sailors and soldiers captured in Iran to sell their stories is causing uproar among Britain’s armed forces. Read British sailors tell media of Iran ordeal. Beat that.

The Minivan Part 2.

I shared the minivan episode with LN. I delivered the punch line with obvious buildup. And get this, I said, JB says, perfect for me and MY BAG!!!!
Then, I waited for LN to – a) Roll on the floor laughing (literally or I could have just said ROTFL)
b) Say something like JB is hilarious and she couldn’t wait to tell this story to all her friends.
c) Get into a philosophical discussion of how we (mankind in general) are becoming more and more materialistic and don’t value what we have – family, friends, health etc.
d) In case she didn’t care, say “that is so funny” like she meant it.
e) Any of the above
f) All of the above.

LN’s response? Dreamily, “She has a really pretty Gucci bag she got last week.”

Kumble retires from ODIs

"Extremely, Extremely, Extremely Tough." – Sachin Tendulkar.

Kumble retires from ODIs.

IMHO, Anil Kumble is the greatest Indian bowler (and one of the greatest cricketers) ever. He has always been the unsung hero of Indian cricket. Can’t say/write enough about him, but I think this picture sums up his character and strength. When I think of Kumble, I think of these images.

Anil Kumble bowled despite having his jaw broken by a Mervyn Dillion bouncer the day before

Kumble ignored the pain to take the prize scalp of Brian Lara for just four runs

Interesting reads:
The man who wouldn't say no
Broken Kumble puts on brave face
Kumble’s official website

$$

BCCI payments scheme rewards results

The new system of payments formulated by the Board for Control of Cricket in India for members of the Indian team has three components, and includes performance-linked clauses. The details, as revealed to Cricinfo by Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI's chief administrative officer, add up to a significant increase for a winning team.
The basic match fee will be the same for all: Rs 100,000 (US$ 2332) for each one-day international, Rs 200,000 for each Test.
There will also be individual results-based incentives for players: For ODIs, both home and away, each member of the playing eleven will receive Rs 300,000 for each match won; reserves will get 50% of that.
For Test matches at home, the payment will be Rs 500,000 per win per player and Rs 300,000 each for a draw. Away Tests will fetch each player Rs 600,000 for a win and Rs 400,000 for a draw. Again, reserves will get 50% of these figures in each case.
There will also be team bonuses linked to results. For one-day matches, the squad will receive Rs 5,000,000 for each series won in India and Rs 7,500,000 for each series won abroad. Winning a Test series will fetch the squad Rs 15,000,000 (US$ 349,882).
There will also be a flat, common retainer fee, Shetty said, to replace the graded system of contracts. However, the board has not yet decided on the quantum of that fee

Coach(es)

For what it’s worth, I think making Shastri the interim manager is a good move. It will be interesting to see if he will be the long term coach.
Related stories:
I want India to enjoy the game says Shastri. While Prasad hopes his appointment is not just for the Bangladesh tour.

Chappell’s report?

There were reports on news channels about how Chappell’s report would point fingers at the attitude of some senior players etc. The usually quiet SRT gave an interview to TOI with headliners like “It hurts if the coach questions our attitude.” Yuvraj Singh and gang gave their unnecessary support to SRT’s statement and all hell broke loose. Amidst all this hype and hoopla, Chappell quietly resigned citing “personal reasons” and is on his way to Australia. He has been offered an advisory role in the BCCI, Shastri is the new interim team manager, Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh are the bowling and fielding coaches respectively. Now that everything is hunky dory, I am not surprised that not a single soul has raised the question, “WHAT THE HECK WAS IN CHAPPELL’S REPORT ANYWAY?” The report hasn’t been made public (not to my knowledge) and there was no finger pointing involved. Go figure.

The Minivan

JB was complaining about her Honda Odyssey. She has 3 kids and it proves to be a practical option but she is sick of it now. I think she associates her minivan with her kids, and the noise, fighting, luggage, cartoon dvds arguments etc that go with it. Her husband – a smart man – thinks they shouldn’t get a new car till the kids are young enough to set the leather seats on fire. Since advice and burnt coffee is served free in this country, I advised her that when the time comes she should get something funky like maybe a BMW roadster.

Me: Get a Z4. It’s a BMW so the performance is obviously awesome. Obviously you husband will love it. The best part is that it has only 2 seats. No room for anything or anyone else! Perfect!
JB (dreamily): Yeah! Just 2 seats. Perfect for me and my bag.

SRT

Here is an interesting read. Excerpts:

But my concern here isn’t the “should he be dropped” debate, it’s the very ugly nature of the criticism directed at SRT over the years. I’m aghast at the irresponsibility of most of India’s sports media in this respect. Through discussions with sports-journo friends and acquaintances, I know that there’s a strong current of anti-Tendulkarism in these circles – has been, in fact, for several years, even going back to the days when he was the country’s best cricketer.
Whenever India suffers an embarrassing loss, don’t we all know what photographs we’ll see blown up on the front page of every newspaper the next day? Tendulkar getting out bowled. (Admittedly, that is an enticing photo option, especially when he’s down on his haunches.) Tendulkar walking forlornly back to the pavilion, a huddle of excited opposition players in the background. A beaten/dispirited Tendulkar, used as a symbol of our supposed National Failure. The Man Who Let Us All Down. Once again.

WC ’07 roundup

Not much happening. You can imagine my frustration considering Bangladesh and Ireland are playing matches planned for India and Pak. Obviously the crowds have dwindled and the turnout for most of the matches is low. Considering the wise men in the organizing committee hiked up the ticket prices, what to do you expect? Now some players are suggesting ticket "fire sales" so there is a better turnout at the stadium and the matches look a little more interesting than they really are.

The first thriller of the tournament was this match between SL and SA. SL chose to bat first and although their top order stumbled did pretty well to reach 206/6 at the end of the 48th over. Langeveldt then took 3 wickets in the 49th over and ensured there were no heroics by SL in the last couple of overs. Smith and Kallis mocked the SL bowling and were rushing to a win when Murali took 2 wickets in an over to suddenly halt the SA juggernaut. No one expected what was in store though. Malinga came back with the old ball and took 4 wickets in 4 balls. He almost took the 5th wicket with his 5th ball and almost took SL to victory. However, the SA tail enders hung in there for a few more balls and made it home by 1 wicket and 10 balls. Malinga became the first bowler in history to accomplish this feat. Almost all the papers and columnists tagged the SA team as “chokers” and how they almost lost. There is no “almost.” There is a winner and a loser. (Ok, there are draws and ties but then this statement wouldn’t sound that emphatic.) Its funny how this tag has stuck to the SA team. They may have won so many tournaments after they famously choked against Aus in the WC 99 semifinal but the tag stuck. Read “A step closer to burying the choker tag”

There was another thriller – a terrific match between Eng and SL. England finally showed some spine and put up a good fight against SL. SL held their nerve and showed why they are in the running for the championship. It was an interesting contest between Murali and Peitersen. Peitersen played like only he can and tried muscling his way to an English victory. Murali kept his cool and finally got his man. Finally SL made it home by 2 runs.

The sad part though is that there were probably 3000 odd fans in the stadium to witness these thrillers.

The Indian Team

With India’s early exit from the WC, just about everybody is screaming bloody murder. The media and television networks are worried about the inevitable drop in viewership. The sponsors are crying about the moolah they spent covering our team and the short hand they were dealt by this early exit. The media will try to squeeze the last drop of honey while they possibly can by lambasting the players and our team on TV 24/7. Just about everyone has a strong opinion about Indian cricket. Ex-cricketers, sports journalists, columnists, and the doodh wala bhaiiyas will have a field day playing MMQB and writing 1000 word essays on the teams’ performance and our new POA to ensure India’s success at WC 2011. For starters here is what Kris Srikkanth has to say about the Indian performance: Too many experiments, but hardly any results. The BCCI will meet with the captain and the coach on April 6th to take “serious decisions” regarding Indian cricket. . So while we get ready for the aftermath of the Indian team’s performance where heads will roll for sure, here is me playing MMQB and offering my 2 cents worth.

Rahul Dravid (C) – A captain has to be a lot more imaginative than conventional. He is a thinking captain, but at times too conservative. IMHO, he should be persisted with because he has the potential to be India’s best captain ever. I would think he has another 2 yrs of cricket left in him. Having said that, he needs to take charge and call the shots a little more often. Standing by Sehwag was fine, but he definitely should have stuck to the “youth” tune that Chappell was singing. He cracked when it mattered most and fell back on his “experienced” seniors.

Sachin Tendulkar (VC) – I hope he plays cricket till he is 50. Anyway, making him the VC was a bad move. Groom some youngster instead. Let SRT do what he does best - BAT. He didn’t have a good tournament but he is the greatest batsman the world has seen. Bring him back as an opener (if he so wishes) and let him decide what he wants to do with his game. Although I have always been one of his biggest fans, I think he needs a few sessions with a sports psychologist. I refuse to believe that the best batsman in the world with every shot in the book cannot score (or at least look like he might score) a hundred in every match. In recent times he seems to get bogged down when there is too much pressure. Play like you don’t care.

Ganguly – He did well after he was brought back into the side. Everybody talks about Ganguly’s great comeback – well he performed well *after* he was brought back into the team. Lets face it, he didn’t deserve a comeback based on his domestic performance. In any case, he has played consistently ever since, although the strike rate has been alarmingly low. His running between the wickets, fielding, and selfish batting stick out like a sore thumb. Pick him on a series by series basis but give him another year (max) to retire in style while grooming a youngster to take his place.

Sehwag – It’s about time he is a *little* more consistent. If SRT needs to play like ‘he doesn’t care’ Sehwag needs to do the opposite. An average of 30 in ODIs is not acceptable and he needs to do the hard yards. Work on his fitness and shot selection. Drop him every time he doesn’t perform and pick him only when he is in form. Uthappa – He needs to be persisted with. The WC might not be the best place for an average newbie with a 5 ODI experience to showcase his talent. In him, I think we have a good flamboyant opener that we so desperately need.

Yuvraj Singh – He was the key - a terrific batsman in the form of his life. He needs to be the new VC.

Dhoni – Much will be made out of the way he got out against Murali. An explosive batsman/keeper who needs to be groomed right.

Dinesh Karthick – A decent keeper. I don’t know if he will make it in to the team as a pure batsman. But he brings a lot of energy on the field. Plus, looks like a genuine guy who is just happy to play for his country and will give it all for the team.

Pathan – Could someone please tell me why his pace dropped and how did he lose his swing? There was a 12 month period where Pathan and Dhoni were responsible for almost all the Indian victories. He is one genuine all rounder that India could have. He needs to play domestic cricket till he drops. The series against Bangladesh would be a good stage to test his match readiness.

Zaheer – He deserved a comeback. The attitude is gone and he has done the hard yards playing county cricket. The energy shows when he bowls. He needs to work on his bowling at the death though.

Munaf – The best we have. McGrath like. Pick up some pace and he will be one of the best. He might want to work on his fielding though which fluctuates between pathetic and hilarious.

Agarkar – The whipping boy of Indian cricket. He was never an all-rounder. Can’t resist giving the batsman at least one 4 ball in an over. He has been bowling well in the past 2 yrs, but has never been consistently consistent. Persist with him till you find someone better.

Sreesanth – He needs to play every ODI he can. Definitely one of our rising stars, he has yet to come to terms with one day cricket.

Kumble – All well, what can we say about India’s greatest bowler ever? A separate post on him later. Btw, he is to announce his retirement from one day cricket when he gets back to India. We will wait for the official announcement.

Harbhajan Singh – what’s the deal with him? Could someone please tell him that bowling 5 doosras in an over will never fetch him a wicket? He has been resting on his laurels for too long. He is way too defensive to be playing as our premier spinner. I can’t remember the last time he bowled a match winning spell (tests or ODI) or has made any sort of impression on the batsmen in ODIs. He bowls way too fast and flat for an off spinner entrusted with the responsibility of taking wickets in the middle overs. Powar should have played instead.

Ramesh Powar – He should have been picked instead of Bhajji (incase I haven’t said it enough times already). He is a genuine attacking off spinner who pushes batsmen into making mistakes with his loop and turn. Very useful in the middle overs. Now if only he would lose weight and pick up his fielding.

What changes would I make after the famous April 6th meeting? Drop Harbhajan and Ganguly. Include Powar, Piyush Chawla, Gautam Gambhir in the team. Persist with Chappell and Dravid. Make Yuvraj the VC. My lineup would be: Uthappa, Gambhir, Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dravid (C), Yuvraj (vc), Dhoni (wk), Pathan, Powar, Zaheer, Munaf. Extras: Karthick, Sreesanth, Chawla.

The week that was…

Last week turned out to be surprisingly busy at work. Found myself in the middle of a couple of new projects. The kind of projects that seem innocuous at first, but later snowball into a monster with a life of its own. Juggling work and the world cup matches has been tough, but the committed fan has managed it well. India crashing out of the world cup will definitely help matters though with the focus shifting back to work.

The most awaited match of the WC’07 so far turned out to be a non-contest. Sri Lanka raised their game when it mattered most and beat India comprehensively. What bothers me is not that India lost, but the way they lost. The fielding was mediocre at best, bowling was decent and captaincy conventional. Faced with the task of scoring 255 on a good batting strip, if the Indians had an appetite for a fight, they did well to conceal it and readily almost eagerly succumbed to the guile of a certain Murlitharan who showed the world exactly why he is touted as the world’s best spinner.

The few hopefuls (like yours truly) who had their sights trained on the Bangladesh-Bermuda match hoping for a Bermuda victory to grant India a backdoor entry into the super eights were disappointed yet again as Bangladesh made short work of Bermuda in a rain affected 21 over match.

The Aus v SA game was awesome. You had to see this game to realize that teams like India and Pakistan were never contenders. The level at which these teams play is way ahead of the rest of the pack. The Aussies scored heavily thanks to Gilchrist and a belligerent century by Hayden (which also happened to be the fastest century in a WC ever). Ponting missed out on a hundred which is not a big deal since he seems to score in hundreds every time he walks in to bat. Clarke played some terrific shots and showed clever use of the crease to slog his way to 92. Facing an uphill task of scoring 378 in 50 overs, the proteas went down all guns blazing. The opening stand of 160 in a mere 21 overs set the pace of this match. However, a phenomenal piece of fielding from Watson got rid of De Villiers, while the heat and cramps forced Smith into retirement. Kallis – South Africa’s best and my personal favorite – couldn’t quite up the tempo and Gibbs succumbed trying to his way out. When Tait’s swinging yorker wrecked the dangerous Boucher’s stumps, SA were definitely out of the chase. However, the best part was the way the SA fought and their attitude towards the game. This is separates these 2 teams from the herd. Logic would suggest that these teams would meet again in the grand finale. However cricket is a funny game and no one can predict what will happen in the knock out stages.

Indian beat Bermuda

Mar 19th India beat minnows Bermuda by 256 runs the biggest margin in ODI history. I have to admit, even though the opponents were Bermuda, the match was thoroughly entertaining if you were an Indian supporter. All the batsmen played well – barring Uthappa and Ganguly who wasn’t in his groove although he made 80 odd runs. The bowlers did fairly well and improved their stats. Now to play like this against Sri Lanka…

A day of upsets

On March 17th, which will be remembered as the day of upsets in WC ‘07, India lost against Bangladesh and Pakistan was thrown out of the WC. India’s insipid display, spineless performance and body language suggested they wanted to be anywhere but on the cricket field. The Pakistan team lost to minnows Ireland waking up the bookies in the process. Now these teams will be criticized in their respective countries, cursed, abused, and pelted with stones till the media finds a new punching bag. Of the two, India is in a slightly better position because after their win over Bermuda, theoretically they can still make it to the super 8. Anyway, since all hell broke loose, here are a couple of interesting reads that are out there on the world wide W.

1. Kamran Abbasi writes another article bashing Pakistan for their performance. To be fair, he did write another big piece on how Woolmer was a great man and contributed to Pak cricket after his recent death. Funny how we realize somebody’s greatness after they have passed away.

2. Kris Srikkanth is obviously a man who “doesn’t mince any words” (replace with “shoots from the hip”, “is trigger happy” etc) even when you ask him a harmless question like “How’s the weather?” Obviously subtlety, diplomacy, politeness is lost on him which is the reason I think all his articles, tv interviews/shows etc are a must read/see. Playing the MMQB to perfection, here’s what he has to say about Agarkar and Zaheer in his latest column after India’s defeat against Bangladesh.

Given the fact we have one medium pacer who after 10 years of international cricket does not have a idea to bowl six balls with offering a ‘boundary ball’ or not to let slip a wide or a no-ball. And another who trains his thoughts on how to glare at batsman rather than plot his downfall!

Bob Woolmer - R.I.P

The entire world was shocked to learn of Bob Woolmer’s now ‘suspicious’ death in Jamaica. There were glowing tributes from across the cricketing world. A great strategist and a brilliant student of the game, Bob will be missed. I just hope there is a thorough investigation and the world gets to know the truth behind his death.

"Bob Woolmer had such a massive influence on my cricket career, and I know that there are countless cricketers around the globe who are just as devastated as I am by his sudden passing. Bob literally gave his life for the game he loved so dearly, and while he had already made such an immense contribution to cricket, his premature death has deprived the game of someone who still had so much to offer the cricketing community. My thoughts and prayers are with Gill and the family." - Jonty Rhodes

Check the full coverage of Bob Woolmer's passing on Cricinfo.

Sachin the best - Ponting

Ponting states the bloody obvious. Read Sachin the most complete batsman: Ponting. I am curious if this is a way to appease your Indian fans after the stupid comments earlier.

Howzzat? I mean,“Ye kaisi thi?”

Here is a must read: Pakistan banned from speaking English in conferences. The brilliant Pakistani team management thought it would be an awesome idea to have Pak players speaking in only Urdu to – believe it or not – “promote tourism to Pakistan.”

"A journalist spoke to Danish Kaneria and asked him what he thought about the gas leak and he tried to play the incident down and said 'It happens'.”But when the report came out the journalist quoted him saying 'It happens at home as well'. "So we would rather avoid these kinds of incidents and speak in Urdu at official times, as well as for reasons of promoting Pakistan."

I have a suspicion in future matches, the Pakistani team might just play with 12 players. No I am not counting the umpire – they did that before the advent of the neutral umpires. I am talking about a translator on field to translate all the sledging and appeals. The next time Shoaib (if he decides to focus on cricket for a change) bowls a bouncer and comes snarling at the batsman with a few pleasantries to share, we might see a translator hurrying along the pitch to make sure the batsman understands every word of it.

The ICC as usual has spoiled the party They think the process of translating for the players might take too much time and hence Pakistan should resort to English. Captain Inzy Haq wasn’t too happy about speaking in Urdu either since he thought the timing of the decision reflected poorly on the players. Well Inzy, here is something I read the other day on Panicker’s blog.

Tony Greig called up man of the match Inzy ul Haq, and then Tony went into this long rigmarole about what a bitch of a pitch it was, how difficult batting was, how no batsman managed to look remotely competent, and how in the midst of it all Inzy had played like an angel.. Through it all, Inzy stands gazing at the heavens, an ex-pression of blissful unconcern on his face.
"So, Inzy, tell us, how hard was it to bat on that wicket," goes Tony.
Inzy blinks into wakefulness on hearing his name, flashes a beatific grin at his interlocutor, and goes, "Nice peetch, no problem."
It was one of the most hilarious tv moments ever.

I would think hearing the players butcher English would reflect more poorly on the team. For the select few, fortunate enough to represent their country, I would think they would work a little on their public speaking skills. Kaise rahi?

JAWS - Snack Attack

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are. - Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (French Lawyer, Politician and Writer, 1755-1826)

Aren’t midnight snacks fun? I generally tend to pick the sweetest, fattiest, greasiest, cheesiest, most unhealthy snack possible. Come midnight, and I think I like to “weigh” my options more carefully than I would normally do. Ice cream/Pizza is good. Anything loaded with saturated fat and a million calories is better. Question to ponder about while finishing your bag-o-chips: When exactly did food stop being food and become “calories”?

Anyway, I used to get pretty creative and adventurous around midnight. The spicy French toast (is it still French?) was invented one such night. In recent times though I have tended to give into the microwaveable quick fixes – the only problem being, they aren't unhealthy enough. As I ‘grow’ into my recliner with a built-in crapper and get more comfortable by the day, I can only thank the wonderful people at Pepsico Inc. for making my life easier. Enter any supermarket, grocery store, gas station or a general hospital and the choices I have are mind-boggling. I am like a kid lost in a Frito-Lay store. Not only do I have a thousand different varieties of chips to choose from, I have hundreds of dips and salsas to go with them. What I admire about Frito-Lay is that not only do they make great products (Cheetos – my personal favorite), but they also have a great sense of humor. Every bag has “nutritional” information at the back and they have recommended “serving sizes” which if you take seriously would mean you could have 3 chips a week. Hilarious.

On a side note - what's the deal with opening a near empty refrigerator in the middle of the night and generally staring blankly for a few minutes expecting food to magically appear out of nowhere?

Losing my chain of thought... Gotta eat... Lift… arm... to… open… bag…

Captain Ponting

In calm waters, every ship has a good captain.

Captain Ricky Ponting is distinctly un-comfortable in un-chartered territory as he finds himself in an un-familiar role of manning the Aussie ship in un-friendly waters. Aussies lost their last five ODIs and have certainly lost their aura of invincibility. Already in a corner, it is easy to understand why cricket legend Sunny Gavaskar might have touched a raw nerve when he targeted Team Australia’s on-field behavior.
Gavaskar: "There is not the slightest doubt that in the last decade or so the Aussies have been awesome in batting, bowling and fielding, which has taken them to the top of the cricketing ladder. But they have also been awful in the way they have sometimes behaved on the field much to the chagrin of the traditional fans of the game."

Read Ricky’s response: Ponting targets Gavaskar over behaviour. Excerpt:
Ricky Ponting: "If he is talking about us, what about the way India has played their cricket over the last few years?" India won three of 12 Tests last year while Australia were successful in their ten games. "I know who I would rather be going to watch," Ponting told the paper. "Have a look at how many Test matches they have won. He [Gavaskar] has been a big part of that, he has been a selector and he has been on the coaching committee. They might want to start to look at the way they play their own cricket rather than looking at us."

Relax Ricky, its ok, not everybody can handle pressure, and I guess that’s what separates the good from the great. But seriously, we are talking about on-field behavior, not about winning matches. And while there are 20 holes in your childish response waiting to be torn apart, I think it’s time you shut your trap and focus on what you do best – score runs. Your logical reasoning and argumentative skills aren’t exactly your strong points – your batting is. Once you are out of your purple patch and the runs dry up, it will be tougher to fend off the vultures. So here is hoping that McGrath signs off in style, Hayden bludgeons his way through the WC, Symonds provides the balance your team needs, Clark plays to his potential, and you score some runs so you can win the WC and be an ass about it too. Maybe once you are in calm waters, you will mellow down and stick to being brash, arrogant, and abusive strictly on the field.

On a separate note, I think it is beneath a cricketing great like Gavaskar to even acknowledge Ricky’s comments. However, in his response ('Aussies could get whacked in a bar') to Ricky’s moronic statement, Gavaskar compares the Australians and the West Indies side of the 1970s and '80s, adding that the players from the Caribbean were more popular champions.

They [West Indies] did not abuse the opponents. They did not have anything to say to the opponents. When they were dominating world cricket the West Indians did not resort to personal abuse on the field, they just played the game hard, they were very tough competitors but there was nothing untoward in their behaviour towards their opponents. West Indian players always had a smile on their face when they came in at the end of day's play to talk with you and to commiserate when you lost, you could see that there was no arrogance there. Cricket lovers all over the world wanted the West Indies teams to get back on their feet and start winning again.