To walk or not to walk....

Yes, I am back after a pretty long hiatus.. Thanks to a cricketing controversy raging in forums all over the world.

Stuart Broad nicked one and was given not out by the umpire and gotten himself a half century in the process, and against who? The Aussies! Probably one of the greatest hypocritical teams to have ever played Cricket.

There are no rules about walking. For those who don't quite understand what walking is - It means that a batsman can choose to walk away from the pitch if he knows he is out. Honesty. The gentlemanly nature it is said.

A few cricketers do walk if they know they are out. It is not mandatory that every cricketer must do so. I applaud honesty in the cricketing field when there is one. Particularly if it comes from an Aussie. And Adam Gilchrist walked. I did admire him for doing so whenever he did it. There was a semi-final at stake, a place in yet another final in a major ICC tournament and he walked. All those who watched him play know the kind of destruction he can unleash with his bat on any given day. And he walked in a semi-final.

People accused him of starting a "walking-crusade" but then each man's integrity is his own. And speaking of integrity. Michael Clarke played under a man known for his great integrity - Ricky Ponting And Clarke for one should remember the Sydney Test of 2008 when the entire Australian team was very honest. There's a saying "people living in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at others." This will apply to Captain Clarke as well.

In my opinion, a batsman is entitled to wait for the umpire's decision regardless. After all, the ICC pays umpires like Aleem Dar, Marais Erasmus and Kumar Dharmasena (Umpire of the year), who are professionals to do a job, just like working people like you and me are paid to do a job. As far as honesty and integrity are concerned, it would be great to see honest people in Cricket after all that's happening around us - match fixing, spot fixing, corruption, et al. And yes, I do admire such a quality in any cricketer.

One of my friends wrote a status message that Broad should have walked as it was a thick edge and not just a faint nick. Well, I agree, but again - what was the umpire doing? The batsman is always well within his rights to wait for the umpire to make a call. And considering that Australia had used up their reviews, they couldn't review that. Also, there should have been communication from the third umpire saying "that was out", which apparently did not happen.

So, all points considered and given that ICC laws do not say anything that batsmen must walk if they know they are out, I would say the umpires are more at fault than Broad himself. Of course, the bowler would be a little disgruntled, since he has lost the battle anyway.

Oh, BTW - Chris Broad, Stuart Broad's father and ICC Match Referee had suspended Dinesh Ramdin, Windies 'keeper for claiming a catch that wasn't, and what would he have told his son now? Food for thought.

UDRS- Umpire Decisions RUINING System

The league phase of this tournament is not yet over and we have seen sixes flying, some stunning catches being taken and some simple ones being spilled (yes, you know whom I'm talking about), excellent displays of batting and bowling, a tied match, upsets, huge run chases, a TV being broken, and yes, of course, umpires messing up decisions tanks to new fangled technology, which has only, as Dhoni says, "adulterated human decision making".

What the decision review systems have brought with it is more confusion. Reminds me of Michael Crichton's words "A complex system will always a lot of problems". A complex game such as Cricket has N number of problems. Rules are written in a language which border heavily on the lines of ambiguity. Sometimes, I'm sure even the greatest lawyers, judges and pundits of the game must have been confused by some rules.

There have been quite a few umpiring errors in recent times, that too with the use of such advanced technology. The worldcup may lack the cutting edge of the hotspot or the assistance of the snicko, but certainly, it has the hawkeye to make some of the LBW decisions easy for the umpire. All that the umpire has to do is to ask the third umpire at the behest of the player who questions the decision. Despite technology which can show out and not out clearly, there are some utterly stupid umpiring errors made.

Technology has been introduced into a game as lengthy as cricket, which once Hitler commented when watching a test match "I could've conquered another country in 5 days", to make sure that correct decisions are reached. Of late, there have been ghastly errors which show reputed umpires in poor light. Why do such errors occur?
1. Umpires these days rely far too much on technology. All the parameters for an LBW decision are shown on a big screen alongwith the reply, but the technology still cannot judge the amount of turn or bounce that the pitch provides at that point of time. The umpires would love to see hawkeye telling them that also, so that decisions can be made properly. What do you guys have a brain with immense cricketing knowledge and experience for?
2. Rules, rules and more rules, which are made ambiguous by each letter.

I could think of only 2, and there could be many more.

Gone are the days when good umpiring decisions were made solely by the two on field umpires. Maybe, with the advent of such technology, umpires could be done away with in the future. Lets just hope that we don't find that happening really soon. Cricket would never be the same if not for umpires like Billy Bowden, and Simon Taufel. Humans can make errors, even utterly stupid ones, on their own that is, but the game will live on. When technology interferes with plain and simple human decision making, it not only makes some highly respected umpires look foolish, it also causes a lot more confusion and sometimes even controversy when the decision making is thrown back to the on field umpire.

The game can only improve by either standardizing the UDRS components. Either make it all (hotspot, hawkeye and snicko) or nothing at all. An already complex game doesn't need a further complexity in terms of absurdly wrong decisions made even with the help of technology.

Theory of Relativity....

Woah!!! Took me just about 15 seconds to come up with this title... This is in no way related to Einstein's theory of relativity...

Coming straight to the point- this post s all about some movies which I felt that I could relate myself and my life till now to. And this is no movie review. Those of you who were googling some of those movies listed here and finally ended up on my page, sorry guys, if you like it, go ahead and read, if not, carry on.

3 Idiots. I happened to watch this movie for the only second time and could completely relate to this movie. Though, I'm no genius who studied well and topped his college, I could completely relate to it since I do have a couple of "idiots" as friends. Well, a lot of their struggles in the movie, I could relate to, especially of a guy who is struggling to pass his exams and also of the one in the group who manages to come out on top always. One thing I learnt from the movie was that we aren't really doing what's we are passionate about (and I still am not doing what I'm passionate about). Not easy in a world which pays so much less for things that we are passionate about, is it?

Not really my kind of a movie. Romance. Not something that I'd completely relate to, but yes to an extent (Shhhh... I'm not telling how and all). I'm sure everyone who has seen this movie will say they can relate to this movie in someway.

Another movie that anyone can relate to. It's a pretty simple story. Gandhigiri rules. One particular scene in this movie which I felt totally moved was a scene where a guy calls up Munna's radio station.. saying he lost a huge sum of money in the share market and doesn't know how to face his father and how Munna helps him out. One fantastic scene, which will remain etched forever in my memory.

Chennai 600028 is all about friendship, rivalries, love, misunderstandings, booze, and yes of course lots of CRICKET. It s a close to my heart movie due to more of the reason that we played regular cricket, just about the time when the movie was released.  Not only does cricket give me the reason, it's also the various other aspects such as mokka comedies, friendships and misunderstandings also which gives us a reason to relate to.

There might be a lot other movies to which I can relate to, but these are the ones which came off the top of my head. Do feel free to add up your own list in the comments.... :)

When he retires....

I really can't imagine what the state of affairs of a billion peoples lives will be when GOD retires. You know whom I am talking about. Yes. It's HIM.

He has beaten opponents all over the world and thrashed bowlers all over many a stadia on the planet. He looks very small, but his achievements- the sky is not the limit. Often compared with Sir Don Bradman, he has always shown, why he is better than Sir Don. No offence meant.

He has won so many matches for India. He has been a bowlers' nightmare. When he is in form, no one can even think of getting him out. It has often been said that opposing captains have even stood and admired his game rather than thinking of ways to get him out. He is such a great cricketer.

Much has been said of him playing. I'm sure, he himself has not yet thought of retiring as yet. However, it is inevitable that even he will retire one day. On that day, I'm sure at least a million people will give up cricket for good. On that day, the Indian stock markets will crash a bit. On that day, there will be a lot of tears shed all over the world, for Cricket will lose it's greatest player ever. On that day, everyone would seriously wish that this day never came. It will come, that day will come, even Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar himself would be very sad.

He was within inches of a crowning glory of winning a world cup for India, but India sadly stumbled at the very last hurdle. It will only be justice to him, to win the next world cup and when he does go, it will be his final hurrah. The man who broke the 200 run barrier in ODIs, the man with the most number of career centuries and the man who has been cricket's god, he will be missed by cricket fans all over the world. His shoes are very huge for anyone to fill, but with god's grace, India might find a replacement, who might be at best, half as good as Tendulkar himself.

If cricket's my religion...

That title says it all. If cricket's my religion, the man in the pic is my god. That s the motto of every Indian, every cricket fanatic all over the world. 

There are so many many sayings about Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. The most famous of them include quotes by other stars such as Matthew Hayden- “I've seen God. He bats at No.4 for India.”

Shane Warne- “I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player.”

Brian Lara “Sachin Tendulkar is a genius. I'm a mere mortal.”

Don Bradman once said to his wife "Come and take a look at this guy. He bats almost the way I did."

There are endless odes and tributes paid to the greatest batsman of all times. There used to be a point of time in Indian Cricket, when Sachin's wicket meant that India could be defeated. 

Imagine that man, performing at the highest level of cricket for such a long time. A journey that began way back in 1987, in Pakistan, facing Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, on debut. That journey has continued ever since. Sachin's career has spanned 20 years, 17000 ODI runs, over 12000 test runs and over 42 test hundreds and 45 ODI hundreds. Imagine. Those are mind boggling figures. There is no way that he'll retire without 50 hundreds in each format of the game, except for T20 of course.

What hasn't Sachin done for India. He's not been a 'keeper. That's it. He s won matches single handedly for the team. He s done that with the bat and the ball. He's even captained the side, but not with much success though. There haven't been too many cricketers who have endured heartbreaks as much as him. There have been so many situations when he had played so many wonderful knocks and India did not make it over the line. The most memorable and the freshest memory would be that of his stunning 175 against Australia. However, India fell short by 4 runs.

A few knocks that anyone would remember would be his back to back centuries against Australia at Sharjah. His brilliant 98 off 75 balls against Pakistan at Centurion, South Africa. That  blinding 155 vs Australia at Chennai in 1997. And that 136 against Pakistan at Chennai in 1999, though that was in a losing cause. That man has contributed a lot more to cricket than anyone else.

Injuries and lack of form have always been a part and parcel of any cricketer's career. And Sachin too has had his share of injuries- tennis elbow, ankle injuries, back problems, finger injuries. The game has taken its toll even on his body. But despite all that, he shrugs them all off and continues to play, continues to dazzle, continues to amaze.

He has had so many batting partners. One can even remember him batting with even a number eleven batsman, trying to save a test match. But at the mention of his batting partners, his best opening partner was Sourav Ganguly, with whom he had scripted a huge number of stunning partnerships. 

Every man has his own weakness, and apparently captaincy was not Sachin's forte. India did not do well under his captaincy, but his batting was as dazzling as always. India has not seen any cricketer perform time and again like Sachin Tendulkar. 

He has terrorised bowlers all over the world with his batting skills. There is no batsman in the world who has made bowling to him to seem as the most terrifying job on earth. Bowlers fear bowling to an in-form Sachin. A cricketer has to be born again to replace Sachin. 

If cricket's my religion, Sachin's my god.

 
P.S: Down below are some thoughts that my friends have shared about the Master Blaster. 


Sankari says- "I like Cricket only because of Sachin. The day he stops playing will be the day I stop watching cricket. "

Rohit says- " My fav sachinism moments : 1. The India Pakistan match at Chepauk.. I am blessed to have seen it live at the MAC stadium. Consider it to be the highpoint of my dumb -life.


2. The Century against England at Chennai which he dedicated to the ppl of Mumbai post 26/11. goes to show , the man still plays for the ppl of India , and not to get the eyeballs of Adidas and Pepsi , unlike a few blokes in the team.

3. The Sharjah sandstorm. I still remember watching it when I was a kid.. I was in my native town Nellore for the holidays , and the roof literally came down , watching it with a dozen equally passionate relatives.

4. The ball tampering scandal.. there waws so much outburst against the umpire who accused Sachin . "You mess with Sachin , you mess with India .

5. The World cup. India was doing poorly and back home cricketers houses were being stoned and effigies being burnt etc. many players appealed for the public to stop this. but went in vain. Sachin comes, holds a small press conference abt it. It all stops. Many ppl demand respect , he commands it."

Jayaram says- "That six off Andy Caddick's ball out of the stadium during the world cup in 2003."

Bhargava- "That dazzling 98 off 75 balls against Pakistan. Amazing. No one can ever forget that."

Venkatraman- "Sharjah- 143. Need I say more?" 

Ashok- 155 not out vs Australia at Chennai. cant forget it. I am very fortunate to see that innings live at chepauk. and more fortunate to have thrown back the ball back to the field after one of his sixes landed into our stand.

Sathyanarayanan- Sharjah, 104 against Zim at Benoni(must win match to go to Final - Ganguly, Azhar and Rahul Dravid went cheaply. We required 240 of 40 overs to qualify for finals. Sachin scored 104. Jadeja and Robin would complete the match). He was totally out of form coming into the match. He played some extra ordinary shots for a player who was out of form. 
155 vs Aus at Chennai(Test Match)
116 vs Pak at Chennai(Test match)
85 vs WI at Mumbai(Test Match)
116 vs Aus at Melbourne(Test match)
169 vs SA at Cape town(India were 67/5)
114 vs Eng at Edgbaston(India 66/5 with Manjrekar not able to bat)

Srinivas- 1.Sharjah "Desert Storm" twin Classics.
2.The 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup game at Centurion (That back foot cover drive off a bemused Akram is etched on my memory).

Krishnan- Sachins won't happen to the game everyday. He is a prisoner of his own (dare I say, Indian) Mind and had his ups and downs but his abilities were exceptional. In that short 22 yards strip, he carved out 100s of 1000s of runs, won millions of hearts (and of course made tons of money). At the same time, despite all his achievements, I won't exclude him from being questioned. But he's unlike anyone we've seen in world cricket and will leave a big stamp on the game- not just for being able to play cricket but also for being disciplined outside of it.

Siva- 1.  241* - Sydney'04 vs Aus - the one in which he stifled his natural instincts to play shots in the cover region because he was getting out in that region! 

2. 49 - Bangalore'08 vs Aus - considering how acrimonious the last series between the two teams had been & how we ended up getting "Bucknor-ed" first & then "Clarke-d" to lose that all important Sydney test match, we had to ensure that we didn't lose this first test, considering how the Aussies would never lose their grip once they wrest the momentum.i think we had to make about 290+ to win on the 5th day.the pitch was absolutely two-paced and going for a win was out of the equation.the great man showed such a remarkable sense of purpose in each and every defensive shot he played for close to two sessions he was at crease and ensured that drew that test.we went on to win that series! 

Venkatraman- His 5/32 at Kochi against Aus and his 3 wickets in the Kolkata test match known for Laxman's heroics are tributes to his crafty bowling and his thinking. People often don't praise him about his bowling. He is very crafty as a leggie and the ball with which he got warne in Kolkata was a stunner! The googly spun in so sharply that it hit Warne's pad before he could get his bat down! Warne must have surely commented in his mind, Oh you beauty!