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.