India's test team selection does not inspire confidence

Australia in India 2012-13

Is Test Cricket important? It is for some of us but I feel that India's selection committee and BCCI think otherwise. The selection, in my opinion has gone very wrong in recent times - specifically after the new coach is in charge. From being No.1 test side we are languishing near bottom.

I hope I am wrong and Indian team does well against Australia.

Let us look at some of the changes.

1. Shikhar Dhawan - I don't think he has the technique to survive at the highest level in Test cricket. He has done well in Ranji Trophy and he should be given a chance but limited over cricket will be better for him. Alas! There is no place in limited over cricket with India doing well.
2. Ravindra Jadeja - Almost similar case as Shikhar Dhawal and our captain thinks he is the greatest all-rounder ever born.
3. Ashwin & Pragyan Ojha - A country that has produced some of the greatest spinners does not even have a decent option. Both are defensive bowlers with little variation. They can contain runs but the question is can they take wickets.

Somehow the whole bowling unit does not inspire confidence. Only time will tell if my reading is wrong. I sincerely hope I am proven wrong and we win the series.

Dhoni - My way or the highway

About 2 years ago, I had written an article on Dhoni's courage and his strange ways.

 Dhoni's strange ways

This article was written before India's 2011 world cup victory. Since then India has lost many series. The team's form has gone from bad to worse. And there is no end in sight.

Former players, selectors and cricket experts are asking for Dhoni's head but all we hear is some promises made by Dhoni. What is happening? Let us try to dissect the current state of affairs.

Is Dhoni still a good leader? I think so. He stands by his players and his decisions. He usually does not find fault with system.
Has his courage deserted him? No, but he has become autocratic and has started thinking that he is right and others are wrong.
Should there be a change in leadership? Maybe, selectors would know better but they should not be influenced by BCCI's managing committee. Maybe they can give a break to Dhoni for upcoming Australia series.
What is the solution? There are number of things that can be done but firstly selection should be left to selectors; Dhoni and/or BCCI's managing committee should have no role in it.
Are there any other reasons for recent defeats? I think coaching staff is not up to the par. Read an article which I wrote about a year ago  Can this be the reason for India's recent performances?

Read another article which highlights Dhoni's role. Undaunted despite defeat

As a fan I can only hope that India goes back to winning ways soon...

VVS Laxman

The effect of VVS Laxman announcing his retirement

India is Very Very Sad

Australia is Very Very Satisfied

Can this be the reason for India's recent performances?

The Indian team went to SA just before the World Cup 2011 and put up a decent show against one of the best teams in world cricket today. The SA show was followed by World Cup triumph.

However, India's cricket team has had an horrendous run in recent past. An average show in WI (one of the lower ranked teams in test cricket), abysmal show in England and Australia. So, what could be reason(s) for string of unceremonious defeats, nay, abject surrender?

Think about it the team, the captain, support staff and (of course) BCCI's whimsical ways have all remained same. The team has the required pedigree. If I think about it only one major change has happened after SA tour - change in coach.

Only time will tell if this is the real reason...

Best/Worst sledges as compiled by Yahoo!

The strange thing is that 8 of the 9 sledges have an Australian in it.

http://cricket.yahoo.com/photos/Ten-of-the-best-worst-sledges_12973135905794#1

Can Australia redeem?

As I write, both Australia and England are fighting it out for Ashes 2010. Only time will tell who will win the series; but at the moment Australia is in dire straits. Australia is 0-1 down after 2 test matches. Even before this series started many pundits, world over, had predicted an unfaourable result for Australia.

Can Australia redeem? Do they even have a chance to come from behind and win the Ashes?

I do not have the answer. However, Australia are unlikely to be a decent force in test cricket for another 2-3 years.

I looked at the official ICC test player ranking. Although these rankings are not a fair measure to gauge team strength albeit they do tell a bit about players' ability and form.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/rankings/content/page/211270.html

I was not a wee-bit surprised to see that none of the Australian player is part of top 10 list. Does it give you any indication of times to come?

A brief history of Paistan cricket

Pakistan goes to England to play test series against Australia and England - 2010

• Shoaib Malik has been pardoned
• Kamran Akmal is part of test sqaud for Australia and England series; so is Shoaib Malik.
• Afridi renounces captaincy and test cricket after disasterous Ist test against Australia (of course no questions asked)
• Salman Butt was made the captain and the team (huffed and puffed but eventually) won
• Asif/Aamer pronounced the best fast bowling pair in the world
• Pakistan has the best bowling attack in the world
• Yousuf recalled even though he has no match practice
• Younis waiting to be recalled although he is playing in England
• Danish Kanaria replace with an unknown bowler

Is that surprising? Pakistan cricket team (courtsey their administration and infighting within team) are predictable. You can predict them to lose a test match and that too abysmally.

Alas! It is sad for world cricket. World cricket needs a strong Pakistan team . As such there are only 9 test playing nations out of which one should not have been there in first place.

Analysis 2010 continued

ICC T20 World Cup 2010

This is a followup post to my last post Analysis 2010 on potential weakness of each team playing in the Super 8.

Why can SL lose?

• They are not looking like the side they were last year
• In both their group games they lacked intensity
• No other batsman apart from Jayawardene has fired

 Why can Australia lose?

• They have been inconsistent. They performed well against Pakistan but lost the track against Bangladesh.
• So far they have an extremely poor record in T20. Read my earlier post Australian Team is favourite

Why can India lose?

• The dreaded C word - Complacency. They are the champions or so the Indian Media and fans think.
• The weakness from last world cup might haunt them again - short pitched bouncers.

Why can WI lose?

• The dreaded I word - Inconsistency.

Evey team has chinks in its armour. And in T20 form on the match day matters more than anything else. However, I think it will be extremely difficult for NZ, Pakistan and SL to reach the semis.

Analysis 2010

ICC T20 World Cup 2010

This post is similar to my last year's post on second edition of ICC T20 World cup.

Analyze this

Like in last year's post I have analyzed what chinks hinder a team to not go on and win the tournament. I am writing this post just before the start of Super 8s. We have had a look at teams' form while teams have had a look at weather and ground conditions.

According to Lardbrokes, at the time of writing, Australia are still favourites with odds at 3. In fact they have improved their odds since tournament beginning. India and SA hold the next 2 positions with odds at 4 and 5 respectively. Also look at my last post

Australian Team is favourite

Let us see why a team can lose.

Why can Pakistan lose?

• The dreaded I word - Inconsistency. One their day they are world beaters and another day they are worse than a club cricket team.
• Nothing remains permanent in Pakistan cricket - They have a new captain who has a history of being on the wrong side of cricket administration and a new team which is low on experience.
• Batting looks weak as compared to other teams.

They can take heart from the fact that their batting fought hard against Australian bowling.

Why can NZ lose?

• The dreaded D word - They are perennial Dark Horses. They raise the expectations of their fans by giving a good fight but never go on and win a big tournament.
• They are a formidable unit but they struggled against lackadaisical SL.

Why can SA lose?

• The dreaded C word - They are not called Chokers for nothing. They inspire hope, excitement and confidence till they lose at the final frontier.
• They were unable to put up a decent fight against India team who were missing key players. Their batsmen struggled against part-time spinners.
• They were unable to put up a decent total against a inexperienced bowling attack of Afghanistan.

Why can England lose?

• The dreaded F word - They are a formidable unit but at the same time fickle in nature. They played well against WI only going on to lose due to DL system but against Ireland their batting failed miserably. And this time DL system helped them to post a win.
• Their country is the home of cricket but till now they beli all expectations of their fans in major competitions.

 Watch out for my next post for rest of the analysis.

Australian Team is favourite

ICC T20 World Cup 2010

Or this is what betting men think!

As per Lardbrokes Odds in favour of Australia wining the tournament is 7/2 which is better than any other team. This seems to be ridiculous. It is true that they have the pedigree and are the best side in One day internationals but T20 is a different ballgame. Consider this:

• Australia has just won 15 of the 29 Internationals played by them.
• Their record in World Cups is even poor. They have lost 5 of the 8 T20 matches played in ICC T20 World Cups.
• They have a new look team with players having little international experience.
• They have a new captain.
• They could not even qualify for Super 8s in last World cup.

I would not discount Australia. They can still go on to win the tournament but I think the odds are heavy. In T20, on their day, even a weak team can beat a stronger team. Remember how India in 2007 and Pakistan in 2009 became world champions despite odds.

In my opinion Australia are a beatable side and putting a pre-tournament favourite tag on them is too much. There are better team in fray.

It seems that the betting is rigged. Or are we missing some information here.

Aamir Khan might take an affront

Everyone knows Austrains are competitive but this is also good
Australian team has a "handful of idiots": John Reid

Temprament vs. Talent

Australia vs. Pakistan 2009-10

The title of this story could also have been Australia vs. Pakistan. Pakistan always had talent in abundance and they are a team of brilliant individuals. Yes they are more like a bunch of talented individuals than a team.

The Australia, as far as memory goes, never had such a weak team. But it is still a team. They might lack talent and experience but they are can more than make it up by grit and determination to succeed. They carry a strong will and temperament to succeed.

Also read my earlier posts

http://fifth-umpire.blogspot.com/2009/06/analyze-this.html

http://fifth-umpire.blogspot.com/2009/12/life-mein-pyas-honi-chahiye.html

Refer to a news item http://www.cricinfo.com/ausvpak09/content/current/story/440513.html where Ponting also conveyed the same message

"As a package, if you look at their team they've got a number of exceptional players," Ponting said. "If they stick together as a group and play well together as a team, they can be very dangerous. Our job is to make sure we don't let them gel too much and combine too well. We've just got to make sure that we've learnt our lessons from this series and we get on with playing some good cricket."

Let's pray for the talent to overcome temperament. You can call be selfish but, for a change, I will support Pakistan since I want India to remain number 1 test team.

Life mein Pyas honi chahiye

Aus vs. WI - 3rd Test
2009/10, Perth

There is an aspect of Australian cricket which is barely written or talked about - Hunger for success. This aspect again came to fore much through the 3rd test. The team might be a shade of what it was about 2 years ago. But the commitment to the game is paramount.

This aspect of Australian cricket is in addition to other aspects which have made them a very strong team. They might not be number 1 team but they still are very strong. Read my earlier posts.

http://fifth-umpire.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-is-australia-number-1-team.html

http://fifth-umpire.blogspot.com/2009/06/why-australia-is-best-test-team-in.html

A few would remember the first game of 1987 World Cup - India vs. Australia. Australia was on verge of losing but won by 1 run. That world cup could be the turning point in Australia's fortunes. Australia won the recent one day series against India, when their team was depleted and was missing 6-7 front line players. They also won the one day series handsomely against England after being beaten in Ashes this year.

I was reminded of a old Pepsi commercial which aptly describes Australian team.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvmFiGVoNEc&feature=related

In my opinion they would not be able to dominate world cricket as they had but they still will be very good team to contend.

Let's pray for England win in England vs. SA test series

England start their test series campaign against SA tomorrow. Let us support and pray for them to win the series handsomely for India's cause. Lest they do, South Africa can inch up towards numero uno slot in ICC test ranking.

Consider this the other two top teams, namely South Africa and Australia, are playing 7 and 10 tests respectively in next 12 months. And India is playing only 2 tests and that too against low ranked Bangladesh. Only God can help India in retaining the top ranking.

English conundrum

I was thinking of posting article II on BCCI Ka WADA but I could not resist commenting about English selectors predicament after reading the following article on Cricinfo

All change for The Oval?

The article talks about different middle order batting option for 5th and final Ashes Test. The article discusses as many as 14 options for middle order and, as its title suggests, hints at making wholesale changes in the team. An excerpt

England's humiliating innings defeat at Headingley has thrown the Ashes wide open and turned this weekend's squad announcement into the hottest topic of the summer. With Kevin Pietersen missing from a flat-lining middle-order, changes are sure to be considered, particularly at Nos. 3 and 4. But which players will front up at The Oval? Cricinfo casts its eye over the leading contenders

There have been many similar discussions from leading cricket analysts. In my opinion it is quite humorous that things have come to such a state. It is all media speculation right now that English selectors will change the team for final test but the selectors have made matters worse by going along with the media speculation. If England want to build a strong team in near future they should truthfully answer following Q:

1. What does selectors want to achieve by considering players for selection who were not even in radar before the 4th test started?
2. Should the selectors even debate on a player who is touching 40 and was a failure at International circuit (read Mark Ramprakash)?
3. Or should they consider someone who retired long ago because he could not take too much cricket related stress and repeatedly refused to come back to International cricket (read Marcus Trescothick)?
4. Does any of the current batsmen, apart from Pietersen and Strauss, inspire confidence?
5. Is it a happy situation that Flintoff is the second best batsman in the team after Strauss (Pietersen is nursing an injury)?
6. Is there something seriously wrong with English cricket? England has not produced a single batsmen who has averaged more than 45 in last 30 years or so.

I do not know the answers and I am not sure what ails English cricket. I just shred to think what would be the future of home of cricket. For now I will support England for 5th test even though it will be extremely difficult for them to surmount a rejuvenated Australian team.

Random Musings

• England has saved the first test. Whew! And what a test it was; Australia was so close to winning it. Even though there was no result, it was a very good advertisement for test cricket. The stadium was full and every ball was being cheered by crowd.

• Hindsight is always 6/6. After Pakistan lost the last test match many analysts questioned team composition. Checkout Former players question team composition Pakistan's cricket is troubled by many factors and team composition could be one of them. In my opinion, rather than criticizing the team after they lost the game (which they could have easily won), former players should try to improve Pakistan cricket as a whole. I think, whatever the team composition was, they should have overcome a paltry target of 167.

• John Buchanan has written some abrasive statements in his new book titled 'The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20'. It seems, after following various media reports, Buchanan has created some new controversies. Read Buchanan takes swipes at Indian stars to checkout what Buchanan has written. Buchanan has got it bang on - these controversies (whether true or untrue) will make the book profitable. Read one of earlier posts Buchanan and the art of remaining profitable to know more about Buchanan style.

• There has been some rumor about Saurav Ganguly running for BCCI chief's post. Yes, it is just a rumor and Ganguly himself has not commented anything. But if he does become BCCI chief, it would be best thing that has ever happened to BCCI. It would be a rare occurrence when an esteemed cricketer, like him, holds such a vital administrative position in BCCI.

• It feels very sad when you read headlines like Advantage Bangladesh for preview of 1st test match between WI and Bangladesh. I do not have anything against Bangladesh; in fact, I want them to become a serious test playing nation. But the fact is that they are enjoying this advantage because of weakened WI side not because of their own strengths.

Ponting's real test

Ponting is thought to be greatest Australian test captain ever by many leading analysts. He has led Australian cricket team successfully over last 5 years. Consider this:

1. Australia's winning percentage of tests under his captaincy is more than any other Australian captain.
2. He has always led from front by contributing heavily in middle order. His batting record speaks volumes - a batting average of more than 50, more centuries than any other Australian. (He may even go on to become leading century scorer in the world - Most Hundreds in tests)
3. His team hold the record of winning most tests on the trot.
4. He was Man of the Series as Australia became the first team in 86 years to achieve an Ashes clean sweep.
   

Did Ponting make Australia near invincible or was there some other factor in play. Australia was already number 1 test team before Ponting took over. What made them number 1 team? The answer is Steve Waugh.

Ponting took the baton from Steve Waugh as a test captain at the beginning of 2004 (by that time he was already captaining one day side). He not only inherited the captaincy from an extremely successful captain but also inherited hugely talented players. His playing 11 included Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist, Langer, Hayden, Gillespie, Martyn, Lehmann, Lee and Ponting himself. All of them were match winners in their own right and all of them had impressive records. It was next to impossible that anyone could beat the team comprising of these players.

The credit must go to Waugh for making an unbeatable outfit. The players and the team was nurtured by Steve Waugh. All these match winners (except for Lee and Ponting) have since then retired leaving Australian team in dire straits. Neither CA nor Ponting realized what would happen once these were not available. They didn't take any preventive action to fill their places at right time.

Today team is bereft of greats' services and half of the team consists of bunch of inexperienced players. Australia started losing there domination near the end of 2007. 2008 was the worst year for them in recent history - they lost test series to India and SA.

It is true that Ponting has services of Clarke and Hussey but apart from them there is no one in the team who can match the previous team's greats. It is also true that they won the test series again SA in their own backyard with new players. But the real test for Ponting has already begun.

1. Can Ponting leave behind a good team to relive the great moments?
2. Can he create a near invincible team?
3. Can he relive Waugh's legacy?

Only time will answer these questions. If Ponting is able to successfully lead his team for next two years and pass over a winning combination to next captain (most probably Clarke), history will remember him forever.

There are tests and then there is Ashes

Ashes is considered as most important tournament among Australian and English fans. Fans, critics, analysts, players alike consider it to be more important than many other prestigious tournaments.

One just has to follow the news coming out of Australian and English camps to notice the premium attached to Ashes.

1. Players and important stakeholders started talking about Ashes even before Australian team landed in England. Even while they preparing for T20 World Cup (considered to be more important than a test series in all other countries), all they talked about was Ashes.
June 4, 2009
Siddle ready for Ashes taunts
June 2, 2009
Pietersen thrilled by Ashes talent pool
May 29, 2009
Ponting warns England against half-fit Flintoff
May 26, 2009
Lee and Clark no certainties for first Test
May 24, 2009
England switched Ashes venues on purpose - Ponting
May 20, 2009
England can win Ashes - Flower

2. Former players, who were moot participants in T20 World Cup were/are talking fervently about Ashes.
Don't rely on Bopara for the Ashes - Warne
Gilchrist not convinced of Flintoff's fitness
Dropping Vaughan a mistake - Warne
Hayden warns Australians on reverse-swing
Use World Twenty20 to build Ashes momentum - Gough

3. Current players are no different - they were/are talking more about Ashes even while playing in T20 World Cup.
Pietersen ready for 'big allrounder' Johnson
Siddle wants new-ball responsibility
Reverse-swing could decide Ashes - Pietersen
Fit Flintoff desperate for the Ashes
Lee and Clark train sights on Strauss

4. England set off for secret bonding session

5. England hire Ashes most successful Australian coach in the hope of winning ashes.
Buchanan agrees ECB deal

Why a bilateral test series is considered so prestigious? I do not have the answer for it. Perhaps it has something to do with maintaining the old cricket order. One thing is for sure test cricket will survive the onslaught of T20, at least in England and Australia.

Buchanan and the art of remaining profitable

Mr Buchanan, the renowned Australian coach, must have very good communication and self selling abilities which allow him to get new jobs even after sever public criticisms from the people who have worked with him.

Mr. Buchanan was able to retain his job as director of coaching staff for KKR throughout IPL 2 while they lost game after game and finished at the bottom of the league. Many renowned analysts bunked his theories and warned against his way of working but somehow retained his assignment. Some of my earlier posts touch upon his coaching style

Controversies and Team Standings
Realize your mistake and move forward
Foreign players and IPL

After IPL 2 there were rumors that he along with many of his coaching staff members will be fired. And what does he do? He not only gets a new assignment even before he is fired and that too for the most prestigious series in International cricket.

June 17, 2009
Buchanan on his way out of Kolkata Knight Riders

June 10, 2009
Buchanan agrees ECB deal

Even now the criticisms are not dying down but Mr. Buchanan is carrying on. Excerpts from Australia unruffled by Buchanan deal

Shane Watson, who is in the Ashes squad, said Buchanan would have little impact on England's campaign while the retired Stuart MacGill said the move was more likely to hurt England than help them.

MacGill said in the Daily Telegraph. "What won England the Ashes in 2005 was their bowling, and if you look at it now, we got Troy Cooley and they got John Buchanan. Troy Cooley won England the Ashes and John Buchanan lost it for us. I don't begrudge Buck for trying to make a living, but his coaching record in England isn't crash hot. He lost the Ashes and had a stint with Middlesex that also didn't work out."

Shane Warne, one of the strongest critics of Buchanan's coaching methods, couldn't resist another dig at him. Warne reckoned that Buchanan's switch would only motivate Australia to go harder at England.

"I think that's a great move because that means we've got more of a chance," Warne said. "Hopefully, Buck (Buchanan) will be doing his stuff and he'll be working and doing all his things and hopefully overcomplicating things. I reckon it gives our chances a big boost and makes our blokes more hungry. Hopefully, he gets all of them in a boot camp and Freddie (Andrew) Flintoff and (Kevin) Pietersen hurt their knees, that would be great."

Bravo! He must add a coaching course on "How to lure people into giving profitable assignments?" in his portfolio of consulting services. It will be a huge hit in these times of recession.

Passing thoughts

1. All three pre-tournament favourites of World cup are out of the competition. SA was on track till they lost semis but other 2, India and Australia, went out without troubling anyone.

Excerpt from my earlier post Why India is serious contender for the ICC T20 World Cup?
---------------------------------
The betting sites have also given best odds to India closely followed by SA and Australia. At the time of posting this articles the Ladbrokes' odds for India were 5/2 while for SA and Australia were 7/2 and 11/2 respectively.
Did anyone say odds in a T20 match change very quickly?
---------------------------------

2. Media was hounding Dhoni for his alleged rift with Sehwag when there wasn't even a shred of evidence supporting the rumour. In fact they are still hounding him because on the same issue.

But media is saying nothing about Dhoni and Kirsten. They are giving different reasons for their poor show in World Cup; Kirsten says fatigue was a big factor for India's pathetic performance while Dhoni thinks it is not the case. I think media has missed a trick or two here. How callous?

3. Two teams who qualified from group of death are still in the fray for World Cup while the team who was placed in the easiest group, read India, are out.

4. Would SA ever be able to shrug of Chokers tag?
Excerpt from my earlier post Analyze this
---------------------------------
They are not called Chokers for nothing. They inspire hope, excitement and confidence till they lose at the final frontier.
---------------------------------

5. Pakistan team is finally getting up from the right side of the bed. Pakistan fans would be hoping for an encore.

6. English and Australian teams can finally concentrate on real thing (read Ashes), now that the distractions (read T20 World Cup) is finally over for them.