Okay, I am not very clever these days, especially when it comes to cricket blogging, but thanks to the forces that be, my slumber is broken every now and then, and I actually get into the gear occasionally.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not surprised that Sourav Ganguly has been, as a clever reporter would write, sacked. The timing is interesting though. Just when the team is celebrating a thrilling victory. Also, it’s funny that this should coincide with the current poll. The Border-Gavasker series could have done without another scandalous event.

Dravid’s non inclusion is not a surprise at all. Wasn’t he actually culled before the Indian Oil Cup (remember Pakistan? Misbah-Ul-Haq crazy dismissals?)? Ganguly flourished in the Tests, but his ODI stints in the series didn’t particularly bring smiles to faces. Laxman? Oh man. He was never an ODI player!

Sachin stays, deservedly so. But BCCI could have waited until Adelaide, given how fanatic Kolkatans are. Grow up, people!

Post from: EveryJoe

Sourav Ganguly Sacked *yawn*

In our next poll, we speculate which Indian senior will go down first.

Options:

Sachin  Tendulkar

Rahul Dravid

Sourav Ganguly

There’s one more option, which I advice against voting for.

Why this poll? Your voice matters!

I have voted. Have you?

Post from: EveryJoe

I forget the poll, again…

Murali’s 709th wicket

Yuvraj six straight sixes

A tribute to Bob Woolmer

Sreesanth-Roy head-to-head

Post from: EveryJoe

Reliving the Newsmakers

There were loads of good performances that we could applaud here, but when it comes to “making waves” these are the five events that I think qualify best.

The Return of Dada: After the World Cup debacle and the youngsters’ winning performance in T20, everyone was talking about culling the three Indian seniors. Ganguly was on the edge of everyone’s sword and we believed, even hoped, that he’d get the pink slip first. But that was just too much for the man who is worth 17000 runs in world cricket. “Don’t provoke the tiger,” he roared as runs after runs  poured into his basket during the India – Pak fixture. He is finishing the year with more than 1000 calendar runs– his best ever. For me, he’s one of the players to watch out in 2008.

Bob Woolmer Murder: This issue, unfortunately, is still unresolved and most likely we’ll never know the truth. First it was a murder, then a suicide, then a natural death– they’ve tried every thing. Pakistan team has always been strife with conflicts and this incident added another blot on the Eustachian. In fact, this event drew lots of unwanted international attention to the sport.

Murali 709 wickets: This is one man who spurred the most heated debates everywhere. As he inched near the figure of 708 wickets, the debates were revived, but he transcended the record nonetheless. You can hate him, call him whatever you please, but he’s got himself up on the cricket records as the highest wicket taker, a record that won’t be broken anytime soon, not unless someone with hypermobile joints turns up.

Yuvraj sixes: The T20 World Cup was a news maker in itself, but what caught everyone’s attention the most were Yuvraj’s six straight sixes off a Stuart Broad over. This one event was probably the most watched video footage on YouTube and other video sites. It sums up all the T20 cricket is about: excitement, nerve, verve, and curve (uh, the cheerleaders, guys!)

Sreesanth – The Angry Young Man: This man alone took on the number one side in cricket, verbally. Call him a freak, a jerk, but he did what no one has ever dared doing, and that’s not it. He injected adrenaline into the whole team– and just see the results. They might have lost to Australia, but their tongues won’t stop wagging.

Did I miss anything substantial? What was the biggest news maker in your opinion?

Post from: EveryJoe

Cricket News Makers 2007

…would you rope Yuvraj Singh in for the second Test?

On the one hand, I feel that he’s in the form of his life, and we need to tap in on that. But on the other hand, yes, I understand we can’t let go of our long-time trusted Laxman either. Ganguly’s sealed his place again (that’s his only aim these days), so Singh’s entry isn’t impending. Plus, the current scheme of selection, particularly with respect to Singh, seems slightly to be inspired by the Australian model. Like, how Tait (their world cup wonder boy) and scores of other potentially good players are still struggling for a Test spot. In another part of the world, they’d easily secure a national jersey. Maybe this policy isn’t bad, but I still have my doubts.

Yuvi’s a gem, no?

Post from: EveryJoe

If you were a selector…

It’s official: Kenya are world’s most successful ODI side. And no, this is not a joke. Their success rate so far in 2007 has been 77%, better than Australia’s 73 something.

They played 17 ODIs in all and won 13. Only two matches were against Test-playing nations–England and New Zealand–which they lost, of course.

Ohkay, busted. Some kidding there, but I thought this discovery by folks at Caught Behind needed some word-of-blog spreading.

Anyway, just in case you don’t already know this: Kenya also beat Bermuda by eight wickets in the Intercontinental Cup recently.Thomas Odoyo hammered 111 off 113 balls to help Kenya clinch the match by six wickets after being reduced to 49/5 in their first ODI against Canada.

I won’t fake knowledge about their history (I am no Stuart), but I and most of the world remember them for two upsets in cricketing history, basically.

* They reached world cup semis in 2003. On their way to the semi-final spot they beat Zimbabwe, a team supposedly better than them. New Zealand refused to play on their land for security reasons, so Kenya pocketed bonus points that helped them further. Some luck, some bravo, and they made it pretty neatly.

This reminds me of some interesting dialogue that took place between Ganguly and Ponting.

Ganguly: We’d prefer to meet Sri Lanka in the final.
Ponting rebuttal: We’d prefer to meet Kenya in the final.

India breezed past Kenya in the semis. No surprise there. And Oz made it to final. No surprise again.

*70-run win over India at Port Elizabeth on 17 October 2001 during the tri-nation series in South Africa. John Wright’s was India coach.

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Due to several personal reasons, I am extremely interested in the advent of cricket. I would like to, but I don’t usually follow the minnow cricket very closely, but this is funny that this post is coming at a time when I am actually looking into what’s going on for the associates.

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We are desperate to topple Australia. And it can’t hurt if it takes some stat hacks to do that.

Btw, the headline is ominous of what’s to come in the near future (except the Kenya part). Didn’t I ever mention I have intuitive powers? Anyhoo, take the poll.

I had put in Kenya and Bangladesh just for fun in the current poll, and Kenya even has a vote.

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BRING THEM ON: India meets Australia. A month and a half to go.

Post from: EveryJoe

Move Over Australia (Kenya’s the New King)