You are certainly not going to like it; you may be kind enough to read it though.
OK, fine. First thing first- Living in a cricketer fiendish country ( Ah! You read it right mate, it is not cricket; it is cricketer) we have almost nothing else to do when this mania arrives.
Being a sports lover is one thing and being a popcorn wizard is another. Watching the prodigally hyped, utterly non-sense, completely rubbish pre-series, post-series, pre-match, post-match, warm ups, country travel over the great INDIAN TV/newspapers, starts three tournaments ahead of the actual one.
A usual game that begins at 2:30 PM actually forces one to switch the TV on at 10:45 for the god damn pitch report et al! And even if Sri Lanka goes on to beat Canada into pulp in a matter of 70 nanoseconds; the whole crap would take the good old 12 hours to end. You know post match programs and analysis.
A good-for-nothing bowler with 1 wicket at 570 in 13 matches he played in some 1989 series adjudges the strategy and tips Chaminda Vaas to better his performance from 8/12. Woilla!!!
Not yet mate, not yet! In the next game, an Ashish Nehra’s 3/106 would be termed as the grandest in-swing (what is that?) bowling ever by the same man, because India has won on the last bowl of the match by a HUGE margin of 2 runs (even after scoring some 639 in 34 overs)!!!
When seen as such, there is nothing wrong in this behavior but I demand a bit of ribs in the back. Only pulp is not what I choose to call man.
Taken that not everyone can be Sachin Tendulkar and has the right (and ability) to praise and criticize anyone but that demands a little bit of fairness. Statements in general should be based on facts and analysis and not on emotions. For that, one is always free to support from home. But declaring in a national daily shows that you are a complete non-sense.
We, the people of fastest emerging/growing economy (I can disagree for another 200 years on this without being exhausted) came up with 20-20 and the reason was very US/Japan like. We don’t have the time to watch 7.5 hours cricket. Agreed, but alas!
We see 3 matches of 3 hours a day. Combine it with the caps-and-tails, it sums up to 16 hours DAILY!!!
Now, who dares to not agree with the big daddy?
And India is the big daddy in cricket. Naah! Not for the quality it offers, nor for the force it is (it is however some force), but for the money it brings to the sports. We are the maddest people about cricketERS.
The thing which made my soul drenched in cricket, the grandest fiesta of this sport, the mighty world cup is back!!
I agree that with ICC Champions Trophy, T-20 World cups, IPLs (The worst germ in the cricketing history) and Champion Leagues, the ODI World Cup is loosing its shine and pedestal in the memories of fans.
It is however a delight, a warm breeze, a nostalgic feeling for purists like me. Not for it promises the same intensity and quality (people can hang me for the use of the word quality) as we would like to see but for the enthralling memories it brings back from the deep inside.
The Bevens and Mcgraths, the Gillis and the Kalus, the Cairns and the Gangulys, the Pollocks and the Kronjes, the Rhodes and the Karims, the Streaks and the Flowers, The Knights and the Flemings are surely to be missed. May be I can be termed as an old age, stinking, 262-is-enough-to-win kind of person who loves battle and not war. But this is how I would like to be known for a few years to come.
The festival is about to begin in some 26 hours from now on and would run for 6 maddening weeks. I am glad I am not at schools this year. I would have certainly made a mess of my exams.
The most prolific thing about world cup has always been that there are certainly more than one winner(s). Reaching to a place which is better that your given status is always seen as some pride. Then there are minnows and they can create some upsets, eating out career of a few big names standing at the twilight of their career.
Life and cricket can be so cruel but then the show must go on.
This edition might not be so different on these maths but is certainly not matching the shin, it once had produced for the white ball and the smell of dust.
When I look at the tournament which canvases 49 matches (why not make it 50 by adding a 3rd place play off?) I could not forgo writing my take on the participating teams.
Hence, if you are not already dead reading 776 tons of pages/GBs here-there-and-everywhere, if you have not cursed me enough for writing last 1187 words (go and count, come back and curse again!!) here is my take on each of them:
Netherlands: The kid who has nothing to loose wins the most number of coins outside the bar and in Ryan ten Doeschate they have a more than eager man. This future Knightrider would make many eyebrows turn and fans who like feet movement would love to watch him. I wish he gets more support from other batters. Bowling seems fine and the fielding can never be a problem to any team when we have butterfingers like Pakistan and India. Placed in a group where they can not cross the first stage (their India like fans may sue me on this), they can only better their record. England and West Indies certainly have something to worry while playing against them. I would not be surprised to see them not-at-the-bottom in the table. But that should be the end of the road this time.
Ireland: Only in their second world cup, they are already a force amongst the down town teams. In the last edition they played as many games as India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe combined could. In Poterfield and O’Brien brothers they have potential match winners. Add to that they have signed ex-english Ed Joyce. Watch out them for their excellent fielding and tight bowling. Had it been somewhere else in the world, they would have surely been in the quarters but here they would have to lift their game a bit too much. But it is not something they can not do. Go Ireland go! Make the Trim castle proud as much as you can. All the best!
Canada: Eight years back, someday there was a hurricane from Canada in a loosing cause. He was John Davison turning 40 the day world cup starts, probably playing his last cup. Stocked and piled by NRIs, the team might pull a thing or two but looks out of sort to me. Placed in a group of non-chokers (Pakistan is the sole exception) they don’t have many chances but I would love to see Ashish Bagai and Rizwan Cheema bat sensible in a match or two. They can at least make life tough for others. Cricket is not only about winning. It is also about not loosing and by the way no one is here to loose.
Kenya: I don’t want to be, but I have to be true. Kenya this time looks completely out of tools. At best they are a shadow of what they were once. I find it real tough to see a match when they play. They look just a filler team to make the tally even. There are a few good prospects in Patel and Waters and experience of Tikolo, Odoyo but with no Karim, Obuya turning a batsman and no Suji, I can not see them beyond Canada. Actually they are not pathetic but then if you are at the stage for so long, there have to be some more expectations. They don’t seem fulfilling them this time.
Zimbabwe: The less we say, the better it is. They have that element to beat anyone any day, but they have this tendency to loose to any one at any day as well. Ironically the latter looks more than a routine now a day. Personally for me I would watch out for Ray Price, he puts most on the runs he concede. An international economy of 3.88 per over at any standard, any opposition owes some respect. But it is almost certain that they would be shown door by the league.
West Indies: You have Sarwan, you have Gayle, you have most reliable Chanderpaul, you have Bravo, you have Pollard, you have Roach and you have Benn but you are the worst team and look so certain to loose every game. That is certainly a shame for the world cricket. Hope they can give some farewell to Shiv for the long classy service he has given to a country obsessed with brutal hitting. Anything below a semis berth looks low to the potential but for now even reaching quarterfinals looks real tough nut to crack.
New Zealand: You won’t get anything to answer this but here is a question from my side. Which team never made it to the final of the world cup and played most number of matches in the all the editions combined only second to Australia (4 times champion)? Yes, they have always been a fine tuned, low-on-talent team and performed above expected on the bigger stages. They are in one of the worst form in the near past but then, when going gets tough, NZ gets going. And they have the nastiest hitters and to win this cup, you just have to ensure 3 knock out games. Reaching quarters don’t look tough for them. So, here comes the first potential winners but as the history says, they simply can not win it. We will see.
Bangladesh: Cricket can be an individual’s game (OK, in India it was a decade back). You don’t believe this? Watch out Shakib Al Hasan, He comes from a different planet and certainly not from Bangladesh. Having all their group matches on home ground, they can even clinch the top spot in the group. What next? You never know with their quality spinners, but Tamim, Kayes and Shakib have to ensure a total near 240-250 and they will have a game in their hand. Not really the World cup winning material but don’t be so surprised if they reach to the semis purely on merit. It would be a shame if they get out at the group stage.
Pakistan: Assume a day when 50% Pakistan is declared militant/terrorist, another 25% thrashed and devastated by earthquakes and draughts. 24% choose to migrate to Arab countries and remaining 1%-11 are found fixing/doping and what not. Still this wonderfully talented country can produce 11 world beaters. The bowling resource simply never drains out. The entire pace men in the world combined are less that half of the pacers Pakistan plays every season and each of them (read each of them) performs. The batting is certainly not of that class but in Misbah and Yunis they have poles around which Afridies, Akmals and Razzaks can hop, and luck permitting can be brutal murderers on their day. Lucky for them, they need only 3 such days. A true cricketing sense says that they should not be in top 8, but if they are in, they can well reach to become the winner. But to be honest enough, I will never want them to reach even the semifinals. Given the way they have been playing recently, it will be a real shame for other nations if they progress to top 4 and further.
South Africa: Almost perfect! They have always been. OK, not really in 2003 but otherwise they have been fantastic. But alas! It takes innovation and guts to be the world beaters. Clinical approach may well place you at the top of the table, but to win knock outs, you need that X-factor. I have highest regards for Kallis and I am amazed by the last classical batsman Amla but to win this tournament AB will have to murder everyone and every time. The bowling is a big worry beyond Morkel. I am not certain why, but I don’t see Styne a real threat in the subcontinent. And then, they don’t have a 3rd bowler, a 4th bowler and a 5th bowler teams will hate to see. All in all, they can easily beat anyone, but then no one really fears them. And their nerves in knockouts, who can comment on that? Pathetic!
Can they break the jinx? I am not hopeful.
England: This is the strongest English team I have ever seen (even after Australia thrashed them 6-1). OK, they are injury hit but that is a part of the game. They can certainly lift there game and go on to win. They have one of the finest bowling unit at this time. They have batters in good nick and they have the world’s best spinner at the moment. But, the drama starts here!
The weather, the food, the condition, the ground, nothing suits them and they have never done well in the subcontinent. Therefore, although they look set in quarterfinals, a Pakistan or Sri Lanka can simply beef them with the spin and dust. Only if Trott and Bell can carry and Collingwood can get some runs to add to hiss cunning bowling, there is no reason that England can not win the cup.
India: Which team has the luckiest man as captain? Which team has an opener whose individual tally scores over the sum of a number of squads in the tournament? Which Team is considered lion in his den? Which team has number of followers only next to the religion Islam? Which team has been publicized as the would-be-winner of the tournament every time they play after 1983? But then, when we come to the reality, the brouhaha created over, looks skewed and that too to an amount worth noticing. With the bowling attack India has (I am not counting Chawla/Ashwin), they are surely going to bleed runs in almost equal measures as the Battle of Thermopylae did. Luckily to their rescue, they have the Massacre, the Tornado, the Hurricane and the Powerhouse with them (Read Sehwah/Raina/Yusuf/Dhoni), who on their days can torment anything, yes anything. Even a soccer ball!! And in the subcontinent, these days may be more frequent. And they have the god of cricket, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar! The mantra would be: bat first, score 475 and win by 3 runs. OK, score 375 and win by 10 runs. Fine!!
But then, Nehra, Sreesanth (What a player!!) and Harbhajan do believe in ‘atithi devo bhavah’. So, I do not see India as a certain winner at least. Having said all, they stand a good chance this time. At least better than what dada once had in 2003, perhaps!
Sri Lanka: The most consistent of them all in the recent times. The most powerful bowling attack and arguably the most accomplished team set up. In Sangakara they have a captain whose bat does all the talking. In Mahela, the have a player, who can be extremely consistent. In Dilshan they have a thin, lightening quick sehwag, who can bowl well in the sub-continent. In Angelo Mathews they have one of the finest pace all-rounders. A team where Samarweera and Silva go unnoticed and Mendis and Perera are used to carry towels; one need not talk about their strength. In the farewell tour of Murali, they look the strongest force and are the strongest contender of the world cup if one goes looking strength to strength. The trend that they have been performing at the final stages gives them an edge over teams like India, England and South Africa. But in a knock out, who knows.
Australia: Agreed that they do not have a Warne or Mcgrath in bowling, or a Gilchrist or Hydos in batting. They don’t have a Symo either and they look like their own pale shadow. Add to it, Mr. Cricket (read Micheal Hussey) is out with an injury but still they deserve some respect because they still are Numero Uno team in ODIs all over the globe. The tigerish approach and typical Kangaroo attitude is something which is required to lift the world cup and Ricky’s men are no doubt capable to do it again. Remember 1999? If A Langer/Martin/Bichel can perform so can a White/Haddin/Bollinger. The problem lies in the fact that Aussies have be so above all, that even if some team rises up and win one game against them, they are written off. Actually, they are still good; a win %age of 70+ tells you the story. At the moment though, they really look volatile and an inspired performance by the opposition may shut their doors in any of the three knock outs. But it would be interesting to see Punter’s men and their character to get under the skin as they have been doing for past 1000 years. My personal best bet this World cup would be Shane Watson and Ponting himself.
So, agreeing on a fair chance for every team out there I see one of the teams from India, Sri Lanka, Australia and England winning the World Cup.
I do not want Sri Lanka to win simply because they have 20 overs between two chuckers. Now whatever allegation ICC puts on me, I am never going to digest Murali or Malinga. They simply are pathetic. Call it my personal misery but I simply can not see them winning this way.
I do not want India to win more than Sri Lanka, because I can not see the inventor of helicopter shot (ugly, isn’t it?) lift the cup. I can not see Sreesanth and Yuvraj roaring. I can not see Harbhajan turning words more than balls. I can not see Yusuf compared to (or surpassing) Richards/Sobers. I simply can not see Sachin being a part of the winning squad, if just for the sake he has been playing 3 games a year destroying the opening career of Gambhir. I agree that he plays wonderfully when he does but how much does he really play? If you are not fit, move on mate! Life has to be like this for everyone. Bending it for a Sachin and/or a Murali is ridiculous. The above statement does not mean that I am not a fan of Sachin but I want him (or for that matter Zaheer) play every game. At least, a bulk of them. You come once in a year and our opener moves down the order, that is selfish. An injury here and there is OK but resting 8 months a year, I am not sure if any other country has players with poorer fitness than Sachin, Sehwag and Zaheer.
I would want Sachin to score 100000 runs and earn every MOM and the MOS award but strictly no WC.
I therefore choose the two little bit weaker sides England and Australia to put my money on. If asked to choose one, it would be England but I would be OK with Australia as well.
Grit of Collingwood or Charisma of Watson? Tough call boy!!
Let the ball rolling…………..Howzthattt!!!
