Freehit Cricket

Cricket blog by a young enthusiast originally from India, currently based in USA.

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The way forward for Cricket in America

Whether its American Football, Baseball, Basketball or Hockey – everyone loves sport in the US. In fact, even the most popular sport in the world – Football (or Soccer as it is known here) – is gaining popularity fast. During last year’s FIFA World Cup, Americans followed team USA’s progress real close. However, interest for the sport of Cricket remains limited to expats who have migrated from Asia or the Caribbean.

United States of America was one of the first three nations to join Imperial Cricket Conference (the predecessor to ICC) as an ‘Associate’ nation. Sri Lanka, who joined as an Associate nation at the same time as USA, have managed to win World Cups in both formats already, but the USA still struggles to create a footprint amongst associate nations. This clearly shows that progress of the sport in USA has been slow in spite of being one of the first to join the bandwagon of Cricket.

Addition of a $5 Million Cricket facility in Indianapolis and involvement of well-known names such as Courtney Walsh and Robin Singh are surely some positives. Yet there needs to be a well thought vision and strategy to setup infrastructure at the grass root level and create a culture of Americans who play and support the sport of Cricket. For this, the following needs to done:

 Introduction of T20 Cricket in the Olympics

USA has the most number of gold and overall medals in Summer Olympics and the second-most in Winter Olympics. If cricket is introduced in the Olympics, countries such as the USA will automatically start taking the sport seriously. USA Cricket Association will get more budgets, funding and attention to ensure that the sport is governed in a transparent and efficient manner.

In fact, not just the US, introduction to Olympics will ensure that a number of countries such as Germany and China will look at ways to introduce the game to the masses. Olympic associates around the world will try to provide the right financial and moral support to prospective players. Once, the infrastructure and talent mentoring programs has been set up, other formats of the sport can also be promoted in associate countries.

 Telecast of all major events/series on basic cable

Thousands of Indians, just like me, grow up watching, following and adoring the game. These cricket fans are happy to pay a premium amount to watch their team to play. However, ordinary Americans who have never been able to relate to the sport, do not pay for cricket channels and therefore never have access to it. Telecasting major events such as World Cups on basic cable will give American kids the chance to follow the game from a young age and they will develop an interest in Cricket.

America’s youth will be able to pick Cricket up and this will ensure that interest in Cricket will increase in demographics other than expats of cricket-playing nations. With the kind of money that cricket broadcasters earn around the world, there will be a lot of challenges in pushing for a move like this. However, if cricket really wants to become a global sport then catching the attention of the youth is a significant step.

Setting up cricket facilities and coaching staff in 8-12 cities

Recently, the state of Karnataka in India started moving their domestic cricket matches to non-urban areas like Hubli and Mysore. The move has helped improve the facilities and in turn given the opportunity for young aspirants to practice in good conditions under the watchful eyes of good coaching and mentoring staff. Karnataka’s cricket governing body has been widely applauded for this decision. There needs to be a similar template to setup cricket facilities across the US where qualified coaches and support staff can work with youth.

Because of the size of the country, 1-2 facilities will not do. Bay Area, Chicagoland, Indianapolis, Virginia-Maryland, Florida, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston regions already have many club-level leagues. These places will be ideal to start cricket academies with coaching classes for different age groups. USACA will have to setup a system for interested people to take up coaching certifications just like the ECB does in England. This way, former club level cricketers and domestic players from cricket playing nations who now reside in the US could contribute to the development of the sport in the US.

 Continues support to current and potential future players

Former USA player Usman Shuja, who had the most career wickets for USA in 50-over cricket, wrote how players received little to no support from the administration when they got injured or had to juggle work and personal situations to play for the national team. It created a lack of loyalty for playing for USA and their commitment wasn’t a 100%.

The recent case of Steven Taylor, star wicket-keeper batsman for the US, proves that Shuja was spot on. In June of 2015, Taylor decided to pull out of USA squad for World T20 Qualifier to play in the more lucrative CPL. With bad communication and no visible career path, talented players will be tempted to move to leagues like CPL to get the right value for their talent.

 These steps may not form a comprehensive strategy to create a solid foothold for Cricket in the United States, but they need to be among the first steps taken by ICC and USACA to create the correct momentum. With strong intentions from the cricket administration and backing of former legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne, USA should be able to make big strides towards becoming a consistent associate nation.

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CWC 2015: The Real Contenders #8 - West Indies

Players to watch for: Marlon Samuels

Unlucky to miss out: Dwayne Bravo, Ravi Rampaul, Kieron Pollard

1. The batting

The worry for West Indies starts with their openers. Lindl Simmons has a poor record in Australia and NZ (averages around 20) and Chris Gayle has been in really poor ODI form. The destructive southpaw averages just 19 with 2 50-plus scores since 2013. Darren Bravo on the other hand, has averaged 31 since 2014 and has a handful of games in Australia and New Zealand. Dwayne Smith is not the most consistent batsman around - overall average of 19 with 8 50s, though he has scored at 30 with 3 fifties since 2014. WI shouldn't make Smith bat above Marlon Samuels, who is fine form with 2 hundreds and 2 fifties in the 10 innings since 2014 (Avg-62). Keeper Denesh Ramdin doesn't have a great record in Aus-NZ, but has been in good form recently (averages 46 since 2014). Allrounders Darren Sammy and Andre Russell are capable of changing the course of a match with their hitting, like they recently showed vs South Africa. Dwayne Bravo's exclusion makes no sense to me as he averaged 46 since the beginning of 2014 with 1 hundred and 2 fifties. Even Kieron Pollard could have been a useful player.

2. The bowling

Skipper Jason Holder has been in good form with 20 wickets at 32 a piece to his name since 2014. He has a number of options to share the new ball with: Kemar Roach, famous for injuring Ponting with his feisty pace, Jerome Taylor as well as two lesser experienced bowlers - Cottrell and Carter. They will however miss Ravi Rampaul, who for some reason didn't even make it the list of 30 probables. Dwayne Bravo had picked 20 wickets since 2014 at just 24 a piece, which makes exclusion even more baffling. Of course, Sunil Narine's decision to not play the World Cup due to issues with his action, make things even tougher for West Indies. Nikita Miller and Suliemann Benn are the other spinning options for them and Chris Gayle as well as Samuels can also roll their arm over, if needed. 

3. Form and fixtures

Interestingly, 12 of the 15 players in the squad have been part of a World Cup squad prior to this one. Yet, the team doesn't inspire too much confidence. In their last 18 ODIs, West Indies have won 8. That may not seem too bad, but 4 of those wins have come against Bangladesh and Ireland. If it was upto me, I would make Darren Sammy the captain and bring in Dwayne Bravo as well as Ravi Rampaul. With this squad, my bet is that West Indies will finish 4th in their group and end up facing hosts Australia in the Quarter-Final. 

Prediction: Quarter-finalists

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CWC 2015: The Real Contenders #7 - Sri Lanka

Players to watch for: Angelo Mathews, Rangana Herath

Unlucky to miss out: Ajantha Mendis

1. The batting

The big four of SL's batting are undoubtedly Dilshan, Sangakkara, Jayawardena and skipper Angelo Mathews. Dilshan's ability to give quick starts make him the most important batsman. 16 out of Dilshan's 20 ODI hundreds have resulted in ODI wins and his 160 at Rajkot helped SL nearly pull off a chase of 414 vs India. Sangakkara has been in fine form with 5 hundreds since the beginning of 2014 and Mathews has averaged 59 in the same period. Jayawardena will be playing his 5th World Cup and has had a very good time in the last two editions. Vice captain Lahiru Thirimanne has also had a good 2014 and Thisara Perera can produce some big hits towards the end.

2. The bowling

Except for Chameera (who was called in as a replacement), every Lankan bowler has at least 40 ODI wickets. Unlike Pakistan, the bowling line-up has good experience and their main 5 bowlers have all played in a WC before this one. Yorker-specialist Lasith Malinga is recovering from an injury and will get some good practice against the minnows during the Group stage. Kulasekara will look to improve his WC statistics (averages nearly 50), but Thisara Perera who can be occasionally expensive, had a good time in the 2011 edition. Rangana Herath is quality spinner and could bowl some tidy overs in the middle. Senanayake has been in good form, although his record away from home is not that great. Ajantha Mendis, who was SL's highest wicket taker since 2014, should have been picked over Senanayake. Overall though, its is a good mix of bowlers and probably the best bowling attack from the sub-continent.

3. Form and fixtures

Sri Lanka have been in decent form leading into the WC with 22 wins from 39 ODIs since 2014, though most of them have been in the sub-continent. Their top 5 batsmen and 3 main bowlers have also performed well in the same period. However, like England, they are at the disadvantage because of the presence of Australia and New Zealand in their group. Had SL been in the other group, I would bet on them reaching the Semis. But, they are likely to qualify as the 3rd best team and face India in QFs. While India's bowling is awful, all of SL's main bowlers except Herath have a poor record against India. So, I would back India to out-bat them and progress to the semis.

Prediction: Quarter-finalists

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CWC 2015: The Real Contenders #6 - Pakistan

Players to watch for: Misbah-ul Haq

Unlucky to miss out: Fawad Alam

1. The batting

Opener Ahmed Shehzad has been in fine form recently and will look to improve his World Cup stats (44 runs in 5 innings in 2011). With an injury to Hafeez, Sarfraz Ahmed or Nasir Jamshed will be Shehzad's opening partner. Jamshed usually performs only in the sub-continent, but India will be wary of him since he has 2 hundreds in 3 matches against them. Pakistan need to ensure that they score quickly in what is going to be a batting friendly WC. Younis Khan will probably bat #3, but has a poor record since 2014 and his averages in Australia as well as NZ are less than 20. Younis wouldn't be in my starting XI. Ideally, Younis should have made way for Fawad Alam who had 1 hundred and 2 fifties in 8 matches of 2014.

I would rather promote Haris Sohail and the exciting Umar Akmal up the order, with Misbah-ul Haq, Pakistan's most sensible batsman at #5 to hold the innings together. The lower order will have explosive Shahid Afridi, who averages just 12 with the bat in the 4 WCs he has played. Sohail Maqsood has also played himself into decent form with an unbeaten fifty against Bangladesh in the recent warm-up game and can bat anywhere in the middle order. Pakistan desperately need to bat better in the last 10 overs, since they have the worst run rate among the top 8 teams since 2013.

2. The bowling

Injury to Junaid Khan and problems with Saeed Ajmal's action make Pakistan look terribly inexperienced. 5 of their 8 bowlers put together have 16 ODI wickets between them. Two of these 5 bowlers, last played an ODI back in 2011, while 1 played in 2012. I don't follow Pakistan's domestic circuit, but such minimal international experience probably doesn't inspire too much confidence among their supporters.

Mohammed Irfan, whose strike rate bowling first is just 32 (as compared to 44 otherwise) will lead the pace attack. With Sohail Khan or Ehsan Adil sharing the new ball, Wahab Riaz will the 1st change bowler. Riaz has a good record in New Zealand with 8 wickets at just 18 a piece. Shahid Afridi and Yasir Shah will be main spinners for Pakistan and Haris Sohail will put in a few overs to share the load. Afridi has a good WC record, mainly because of his good performance in 2011. Yasir Shah looked impressive in the little I saw of him in test matches in UAE. Since 2013, Pakistan just like the English, have conceded too many runs in the last 10 overs. Surely, they will need to improve in this domain.

3. Recent form

Pakistan has been in ordinary form in ODIs in recent times. They have managed 6 of the 18 ODIs they have played since 2014. Their W/L ratio is worse than even England. Both their batting as well as bowling look shaky and they will badly miss Saeed Ajmal as well as Mohammed Hafeez. With South Africa, India and West Indies in their group, I would expect them to finish 3rd. Therefore, Pakistan will be likely to face Australia or New Zealand will in the Quarter-Finals. Pakistan are always very unpredictable but I would be surprised if they reach the Semi-Finals. 

Prediction: Quarter-finalists

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CWC 2015: The Real Contenders #5 - England

Players to watch for: Ian Bell, James Anderson

1. The squad

Opener Ian Bell is the key to England's batting in my opinion. Bell has played over 30 ODIs in Australia and New Zealand and managed 8 fifty plus scores in them. 23 of his 30 ODI fifties and 3 of his 4 hundreds have resulted in England victories. Opposition teams will surely look to dismiss him with the new ball. His partner Moeen Ali is relatively new, but an exciting talent with the bat as well as the ball.

James Taylor is another inexperienced batsman at #3, though he has already managed a couple of fifties in Australia. Joe Root at 4 is in very good form with 3 hundreds and 3 fifties in 2014, but skipper Eoin Morgan will play a bigger role in the middle order. Morgan's ability to attack the bowling with unconventional shots is well known, however he needs to pick up his game in World Cups, where he currently averages just 18. Ravi Bopara's average of 16 (in Aus, NZ) isn't anything to boast about either, however Jos Buttler (strike rate: 109) can provide some big hits towards the end.

The bowling looks pretty good on paper with Steven Finn, Stuart Broad and the leader of the pack, James Anderson. This will be Anderson's 4th World Cup although his record has been ordinary. Broad also doesn't have a great record in Australia and NZ either. Finn on the other hand, had a ordinary 2014 but has come back in the recent Carlton Tri-Series. England will need James Tredwell to continue his tight bowling of the last year to control runs in the middle overs and hope Chris Woakes can finish well in the final 10 overs.

2. ODI form and fixtures

Since the beginning of 2013, England have played 51 ODIs and managed only 21 wins in those. In 2014, they have 9 wins in 25 ODIs. I doubt any keen follower of Cricket will say that England are among the better teams for the WC. They have issues in both the departments - batting and bowling. While the batting has been scoring too few runs in the last 10 (2nd worst among top 8 teams since 2013), the bowling has been conceding way too many (worst among top 8 since 2013).

To add to this, England are placed in a group which already has Australia as well as New Zealand. Therefore at best, they will probably qualify as 3rd best team from their group which will make them meet the 2nd best team of the other group, possibly India. While India did lose to them twice in the recent tri-series, I don't expect that to happen in a WC, where India generally pick up their game towards the end. Hence, I would be surprised if England reach the semi-finals of CWC 2015.

Prediction: Quarter-Finalists

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CWC 2015 - The Real Contenders #4: South Africa

Players to watch out for: AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn (No surprises here)

Unlucky to miss out: Ryan McLaren

1. The batting

South Africa has a solid batting line-up and they are all in top form. Openers Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla averages 51 with 6 hundreds and 5 fifties between them. Amla, the man who keeps breaking ODI records set by Kohli, has 5 hundreds in 2014 and has a partnership of 83 with super-human skipper AB de Villiers, on an average. Apart from his superb current form, de Villiers averages 95 in Australia and NZ and also has a good record in World Cups. Faf du Plessis completes a superb top 4.

The only worry for South Africa was the form of their lower order batsmen, JP Duminy and David Miller. However, the recent series against West Indies, gave both these batsmen plenty of time in the middle and Miller even managed a hundred. Even their back-up opener Riley Rissouw notched up 2 hundreds in this 5 match ODI series.

2. The bowling

When a team’s third best pacer is Vernon Philander, you can imagine how good the bowling is overall. Dale Steyn, often used strategically by South Africa in ODIs, is the obvious spearhead of South Africa’s bowling attack. Although, he averages 30 per wicket in Australia and NZ, very mediocre by his standards. Morne Morkel enjoys playing down under and has 25 wickets at 22 a piece. Even Imran Tahir, the lone spinner, had a tremendous World Cup in 2011 as he picked up 14 wickets at an astonishing average of 11. 

Ryan McLaren is an unlucky man. He did not make the WC squad in spite of a good 2014, where he managed 23 scalps at 25 per wicket. South Africa wanted an extra batsmen which is why Farhaan Behardien and Rissouw managed to make the 15 ahead of McLaren. Nonetheless, this is one of the top 2 bowling line ups of this WC and they are the only side to concede less than 7 runs an over in last 10 since Jan 2013.

3. Record in WCs & ability to handle pressure

In world cups, South Africa have played 4 knockout games (QFs and SFs) and managed to win none. They have the best win-loss ratio among all teams in group stages of WCs and I expect them to continue on this trend. Unpredictable Pakistan will probably be South Africa’s only tough game in the group stage of this WC. 

However, after the group stages, to win the World Cup, a team has to win the Quarter-Final, Semi-Final and then the Final. In spite of being the best team on paper, I would be very surprised if South Africa manage 3 wins in 3 knockout games.  South African batsmen have had a history of struggling with high pressure chases and this team doesn’t fair too well either. In the last 20 ODIs where they batted 2nd, they have just won just 9 times. With the exception of skipper AB de Villiers, every Saffer batsman averages more batting 1st. Therefore, I expect them to crash out of the World Cup in the Semi-Finals.

Prediction: Semi-Finalists

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CWC 2015 - The Real Contenders #3: Australia

In my third post, I take a look at the most successful team in World Cup history, Australia. 

Players to watch out for: Steve Smith, James Faulkner

Absurd Selection: Shane Watson, Xavier Doherty

Unlucky to miss out: Nathan Lyon

1. The batting

Openers Aaron Finch & David Warner are both capable of providing quick starts to Australia. Finch had a very good 2014 with 4 ODI hundreds, while Warner has shown good form since India's tour started in November. At 3, Steven Smith is in the form of his life and will be, in my view, among the top scorers of World Cup. Australia have the option of Micheal Clarke, George Bailey as well as Shane Watson. Even though his record in 2014 hasn't been anything exceptional, Bailey has my vote for #4 over Clarke (battling fitness) & Watson (poor form). In fact, Watson wouldn't be in my starting XI at all. I would play Clarke at 5, if he is fit, followed by Mitchell Marsh at 6 and Brad Haddin at 7. 

2. The all-rounders

Australia have a quite a few of these 'bits and pieces' players. James Faulkner is my favorite out of them. He picked up the most wickets for the Aussies in 2014 and averages a mind-blowing 110 (Strike-rate 132) when Australia chase. I would be tempted to send him before Brad Haddin, whenever Australia is batting 2nd.

In what little I have seen, Mitchell Marsh is also a useful player and should start ahead of Glenn Maxwell, who averages just 20 in Australia in spite of a number of chances to bat at 5 and 6. Yes, he is a flamboyant hitter, but the only time I would pick him ahead of Marsh is when the hosts play at Sydney and the pitch is expected to turn. Australia shouldn't play Shane Watson at all, but I am certain they will play him ahead of Mitchell Marsh.

3. The bowlers

Talented yet occasionally erratic Mitchell Starc has a superb record in Australia with 40 wickets at just 18 a piece. He is likely to share the new ball with either of Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins. While Hazlewood had a good time in ODIs of 2014 and then a good series against India, Cummins has played a handful of ODIs spread over the last 3 years or so.

Mitchell Johnson & Faulkner as 1st and 2nd change make this a solid line-up. Marsh/Watson will be their 5th pacer, if and when needed. As the main spinner, Aussies have always preferred Xavier Doherty in LOIs over Nathan Lyon, who is turning out to be a very good test spinner. While I understand that performances in test cricket shouldn't be a reason to pick for ODIs, Lyon played a few ODIs in 2014 and picked up 10 wickets at 25 a piece as compared to Doherty's 5 wickets at 45. Therefore, Lyon will surely feel unlucky to miss out on the World Cup.

Overall, a solid pace attack, a good set of batsmen, number of decent all-rounders and superb fielders make Australia the favorites to win the World Cup. On paper, South Africa might be a stronger side, but expecting them to win three knockout games back to back, is a little too much for a team which has never won a knockout game in an ODI World Cup.

Prediction: Winners

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CWC 2015 - The Real Contenders #2: New Zealand

In my second post in this series, I take a look at co-hosts New Zealand.

Players to watch out for: Kane Williamson, Luke Ronchi

Unlucky to miss out: Matthew Henry

1. The batsmen

Openers Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill are surely worries for NZ. Since his 100 against India in Jan 2014, Guptill has averaged just 21.9. Skipper Brendon had a poor 2014 with an average of just 20, but his century and fifty versus Sri Lanka in the recent series will help his confidence.

At 3, Kane Williamson has been quite superb. Everyone rates him among the best talents in world cricket today and it is not hard to see why. Williamson averages 70 in 2014 with 8 scores of 50 or more in 12 innings. Ross Taylor is also in superb form with an average of 66, 3 hundreds and 3 fifties to his name in 2014. No doubt, that these two are NZ's key players.

To add to this, Luke Ronchi has proved himself with a couple of good knocks against Steyn and co. and he recently helped NZ recover from 93/5 to 360/6 with 170* off just 99 balls. Corey Anderson is also a useful hitter to boost the run-rate towards the end of the innings.

2. The pacers

Tim Southee, who had a solid 2011 World Cup with 18 wickets at 17 a piece will lead New Zealand's bowling attack. Mitchell McClenaghan, who has 7 innings with 4 or more wickets in just 32 innings he has bowled in, is a good left arm quick. Kyle Mills is probably NZ's best ODI bowler with a lot of experience and has played 4 matches over 3 World Cups.

What baffles me though is that Trent Boult, a test specialist who hardly played ODIs in 2014 has been picked over Matthew Henry. Henry was NZ's highest wicket taker in 2014 ODIs with 21 wickets at just 15 a piece. In spite of his absence though, this is more than a decent pace attack.

3. The spinners

Nathan McCullum and Daniel Vettori are NZ's front line spinners and both exhibit good control and have economies around the 4.5 runs an over mark. Additionally, they can add a few runs with a the bat as well. Kane Williamson can also be useful with his off-spin if needed.

Overall, New Zealand is well balanced team and they are superb in the field as well. I don't think they are favorites to win this tournament, but this is surely New Zealand's best chance to win since John Wright screwed Martin Crowe's plans (at least that is how Crowe puts it).

Prediction: Finalists/Winners

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CWC 2015 - The Real Contenders #1: India

Before the 2011 World Cup, I had a written a series by the same name, where I had taken a detailed look at the top 6 teams and predicted how they will fare. Starting with this post, I will do the same for the upcoming 2015 World Cup. First up, defending champions Team India.

Players to watch out for: Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina

Absurd selection: Ishant Sharma

1. The openers

His recent test form hasn't been great but I wouldn't write off the Shikhar Dhawan just yet. 2014 was a good year in ODIs for him with 6 fifties and 1 hundred at an average of 48 runs an innings. The Delhi opener played a crucial role in India's win in 2013 Champions Trophy in England with 2 hundreds and 1 fifty. With the format of this World Cup, Dhawan will get plenty of time to get used to the pitches by the time the knockout stage begins and the flamboyant southpaw can certainly be a force.

Barring that brutal 264 against the Lankans, Rohit Sharma has had a mediocre 2014 in ODIs and averages mid-30s in both Australia and New Zealand. However, his recent 100 at the MCG was a superb knock shows that he is more than capable of delivering down under. As an Indian fan, I would hope that at least one of Dhawan or Rohit are consistent in the World Cup to take load of the our chase specialists (Kohli, Raina and Dhoni). 

2. The Chase Specialists

Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and skipper MS Dhoni have together scored over 10,000 ODI runs while chasing with averages of 64, 39 and 51 respectively. In wins, these averages climb to 87, 103 and 64 respectively. 13 of Kohli's 14 2nd innings hundreds have been wins. These three make India a very solid side while chasing and our weak bowling makes them even more crucial. They will have to continue to deliver, specially in the knockout stages since India is much more suited to fielding first.

3. The bowling line-up

Ishant Sharma (apart from Stuart Binny - who probably won't play a big role) was the only surprise pick among our bowlers in this World Cup squad. While he has a good record of 14 wickets at 20 a piece in Australia, he hasn't been a regular ODI player and probably shouldn't have been picked. All our bowlers (except Binny, Axar Patel) have played in Australia or New Zealand and have ordinary records to show. Axar Patel seems like a very good pick who can bowl some tight lines and at least keep the runs down.

Not much is expected from our bowlers, but India will need at least one bowler (probably Bhuvneshwar Kumar) to perform like Zaheer did in 2011 and other bowlers will hopefully chip in.

4. Format and Venues

There are two groups with 7 teams each in the 1st stage and 4 of them will qualify for Quarter-finals. India is Group B which also includes South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies along with Zimbabwe and UAE. Therefore, qualifying for the QFs should not be hard task. India will play the best two (Pakistan, SA) at Adelaide and MCG, both generally good batting tracks and then play at Perth, Hamilton and Auckland, giving them decent practice nearly everywhere.

All in all, they should qualify as 2nd or 3rd from this group which will mean they will play at Adelaide (probably versus England or Sri Lanka) or at MCG (probably versus Australia or NZ). With our batting, we should be able to beat Sri Lanka or England and therefore, India can make it to Semi-finals. However, I doubt they will go any further than that.

Prediction: Semi-finalists.

In spite of the format and India's recent record in ICC events (21 wins in last 27 matches), India will probably not be able to defend the title. To really have a shot, India will need at least 2 bowlers to perform regularly to support the burden on the batting line-up.

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India's problem is its bowling, not MS Dhoni

Fans following the match on Day 2 saw the game slip from India’s grasp as Australia piled on runs. Bowlers failing to do the job, has been an issue with the team since the past 3-4 years in particular. India have also had an issue of batting collapses after good starts. Different fans have blamed bowling, on occasions batting for our losses and of course, there is a brigade which has blamed MS Dhoni for the poor run. Lets look at the batting first.

During the 2000-09 period, India was a very good test team. The most famous away wins in Adelaide, Perth, Leeds, Johannesburg, Rawalpindi and Kingston were during this phase and India also reached a ranking of #1 in tests. During this good run, the batting collapsed for 200 or less, 15 times in 63 completed innings, that is, once every 4.2 innings.

Since then (2010-now), India’s batting has collapsed for 200 or less, 11 times in 49 completed innings, that is, once every 4.4 innings. Therefore, India’s batting is not to be blamed. I am not saying that we should be okay with losing 8 wickets in a session like the first test, but the collapse to 224 after 3 solid batting shows should not consume too much attention. Yes, there can be further improvement, but our focus should be at the main problem.

(Away tests excluding Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have been considered.)

India’s average has gone up from 39 to 45, when comparing 2000-09 to 2010-14. Economy rate has also gone up 3.45 to 3.6 runs an over. Commentators have been talking about how India in the recent past has allowed the last 5 of the opposite team to score a lot of runs. But, the fact that they have just wasted the new ball is often forgotten. Take a look at the photos below, depicting 3’s and 4’s taken during the first 25 overs of each innings in this test:

1. India’s 1st innings - 9 drives through cover by Dhawan, Vijay and Pujara in the first 25 overs. (Dhawan’s appear on the right side)

2. Australia’s 1st innings - 2 drives through cover region, both by Rogers in the first 25 overs. (Rogers’ appear on the right, others are flicks by Watson)

Compared to 9 shots through cover played by the Indians, Australians just played 2. This essentially shows how the Indians have bowled much shorter than Australia. Instead of asking Australians to drive the ball, we have allowed them to cut and pull even in the first 25 overs. Shami in particular, has been horrible this test and has bowled all over the place. The bowling unit, which includes the coach, Ishant Sharma (senior bowler, who is on his 3rd tour to Australia) and other bowlers need to re-think where they want to bowl. MS Dhoni needs to ask the bowlers to make the batsmen drive on most occasions and then using the bouncer as a surprise. Only then, we will create more chances and have a shot at taking 20 wickets.

Now, lets talk about MS Dhoni. Its not like MS Dhoni is batting like Shaun Marsh was before this series. He was in a bad patch from 2012-13 and then even I had advocated for dropping him. However, in his last 15 test innings, MS Dhoni has 5 fifties and hasn’t looked completely out of sorts. 

A lot of people have been very critical of his captaincy as well. But with bowlers who have been inconsistent with their line and length, who fail to bowl their field on most occasions, any captain will have to be defensive. If India’s bowlers start bowling better and execute plans as per their fields, skipper will have the liberty to attack. My only issue with his captaincy, is the reluctance to pick five bowlers. That however, is an issue with all Indian captains since Saurav Ganguly.

Therefore I believe that MS Dhoni is not India’s problem and we should not try to replace him. Currently, we need to re-think our bowling plans and hope Bhuvaneshwar Kumar has recovered from his injury.

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Four thoughts on the Adelaide Test

Australia have won the 1st test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy by 48 runs, after the Indians were all out for 315 in the final innings. Here are my thoughts:

1. India need to think about David Warner and Nathan Lyon

David Warner is in the form of his life and has scored 5 hundreds in his last 8 innings in Test Cricket. With Chris Rogers already in dodgy form, Australia will depend on Warner to provide solid starts. India needs to keep a check on the southpaw, else with his attacking batting style, he will end up running away with the game again and again.

Nathan Lyon bowled superbly to claim the same number of wickets as the Indians put together claimed in the match. Adelaide was surely the most favorable venue for him out of the 4 chosen in this test series and he made the most of it by bowling accurately. Brisbane has traditionally had more pace friendly pitches and therefore his role in the Australian line-up will probably diminish. However, India still needs to be vary of him as some Indian batsmen did not look at ease while playing him. Pujara in particular, looks vulnerable against off-spin. 

2. Virat Kohli - The batsman and the leader

Virat Kohli's rise over the past 5 years has been phenomenal and this test is surely a big leap towards proving his test credentials. His batting in the 1st innings was solid and in the 2nd innings was imperious on a Day 5 pitch. This 141 was no doubt one of the great 4th innings knocks scored by any Indian abroad. His intent and determination was great to watch. 

As a leader, Kohli walked the talk by playing aggressive cricket as he had promised before the series. His 4th innings hundred was a testimony to this attitude and I loved it. I will refrain from judging Kohli as a tactician (on-field captain), not just because I missed a decent amount of India's bowling, but also because it is early days. If I read his lips correctly, he said 'Believe' to Mohd. Shami, who Kohli walked past after getting out. This is why I loved him as a leader.

3. The aggressive mindset - Was it to blame?

People have blamed the dismissal of wicket-keeper Saha (and India's loss) on the aggressive attitude that India tried to play with. Critics mentioned that playing for a draw is not a bad idea and staying 0-0 with 3 tests to go is better than being 0-1 down. Obviously, 0-0 is a better scoreline for India than 0-1, but to blame Saha's dismissal on the attitude might not be accurate. I sincerely doubt any batsman, even if told to play aggressively, would have played that shot after scoring 15 runs in the over. Saha's stroke was a rush of blood in my opinion. 

I can't think of a single batting line-up in world cricket today which would chase down 364 in 98 overs of the final day of a test match more than once in 5 chances. Not many teams would have dared to play in this manner and we nearly pulled it off. That, in my mind, is remarkable. In ODIs, India is probably the best chasing side and has made it a habit to consistently chase down targets of over 300. With this attitude, India can slowly make it a habit to chase down big targets in tests as well. 

4. Why we lost - Umpiring? Bowling? Batting?

Poor umpiring was one of the key reasons according to some twitter people I follow. While there were a couple of bad decisions on Day 5, Cricket will always have that human factor(and it should). Unfortunately, umpiring standards in Cricket have continued falling of late, but India cannot disagree to have DRS and at the same time, make a fuss over bad decisions. 

The main cause of concern has to be the bowling line-up which managed only 12 wickets. Umesh Yadav needs to come in and hopefully, bowlers bowl with a lot more control than they did in Australia's 1st innings. 

Having said that, there is absolutely no doubt that India losing 8 wickets in 1 session is not excusable. Vijay and Kohli played India into a solid position at Tea, with 159 runs needed off 37 overs. From thereon, India should have won or drawn the test, at the very least. Hopefully, this will act as a lesson learnt and India will win the next time an opponent sets a 4th innings target like this. 

[freehitcricket]

On Sourav Ganguly's captaincy

The Prince of Kolkata, as he was called by Sir Geoffrey Boycott, is considered by many as the greatest Indian captain. I do like certain aspects of Ganguly’s leadership, but I am not convinced with all the praise that he gets. Therefore, I decided to look at various aspects of his captaincy that I appreciated, disliked and then his record as compared to others.

The good

Under Ganguly, we saw the rise of two superb players, Sehwag and Harbhajan. The southpaw saw the talent in these two youngsters and backed them. It was a bold decision to back Harbhajan, particularly in ODIs, ahead of Anil Kumble. The decision paid off as Harbhajan outperformed Kumble during 2000-03. It is a known fact that the idea of promoting Sehwag as opener was Ganguly’s. It was good move as India unearthed one of its best openers (Tests as opener: Average – 50, 22 hundreds; ODIs as opener: Average – 37, 14 hundreds, Strike rate 105) in generations. The game changing batsmen remained a crucial part of the Indian line-up till 2011.

Many credit him for the rise of Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh as well. However, when you look at their careers during Ganguly’s captaincy and after his reign, you will realize that these two were actually at their best in the latter period. What turned things around for Zaheer was his stint in England in 2006. Post that, he was a different bowler especially in tests. Yuvraj got abundant support from Ganguly, but given his talent, it wasn’t a surprising move.

Another reason why Ganguly’s captaincy is lauded is because he is believed to be the one who made India believe that we could win abroad. I have never really agreed with this, as I always felt that Dravid was the one, who led from the front and set up most of our famous away wins with the help of different bowlers.

The bad

There were many aspects of Ganguly’s captaincy, which I will never be able to understand. To start with, selection of Dinesh Mongia over VVS Laxman in ODIs has always baffled me. The stats below clearly show that Laxman outperformed him with the bat. Mongia wasn’t even a good part-time bowler, yet he was the one picked for 2003 World Cup.

Another player who in my opinion did not get a fair chance was Murali Kartik. In my opinion, he was a valuable bowler to have, especially in the shorter version of the game. But thanks to Ganguly’s hate of left arm spinners, he never got a regular place in the squad.

Apart from these selection issues, where I disagreed with him the most was how he treated himself differently from other players. Sometimes, players (Laxman as an example) who were ordinary fielders were not considered for selection. Ganguly, surely one of the worst in that team, did not have to worry about his place even when his bat was not doing the talking. Had the same rules been applied for him, his career would surely have been much shorter.

Captaincy record

The graph above shows the Win/loss ratio of various recent Indian captains against non-minnows Test playing nations. While, MS Dhoni has a much better record in both tests and ODIs, it is clear that even Dravid got more success for India than Ganguly. We did not win any away test series under Ganguly, while we won 2 under Dravid. In ODIs too, Dravid’s team was far more consistent than his predecessor’s.

A friend on twitter recently commented that Ganguly as a captain was like India’s Imran Khan. Facts however, paint a completely different story as Imran performed better both as a batsmen as well as a bowler under his own captaincy. Also, percentage of wins for Imran was much more in ODIs and he lost very few matches in tests.

Ganguly’s consistency with the bat dropped once he took up captaincy. The only solid knock as captain that I can recall is his century in Brisbane test in 2002/3. Towards the 2nd half of his reign, I often felt that India had started picking their 10 best players and then adding him for his captaincy, instead of picking the best 11 and choosing a captain amongst them. On the whole, Ganguly, in my view, is surely among India’s better captains, but to say he was India’s best captain (or a great captain) does not seem right.

[freehitcricket]

A comparison of three stalwarts - Ponting, Kallis and Dravid

The recent retirement of Jacques Kallis sparked more debates and comparisons of the legendary player with Australia's Ricky Ponting as well as India's Rahul Dravid. I have always believed that purely as batsmen, Ponting was the best, followed by Dravid and then Kallis. Many disagreed on this assessment of mine and therefore, I decided to take up this issue and see if stats actually back what I thought.

Consistency and performance under pressure

As the 1st graph shows, all three of them averaged 33 in the worst 2 calendar year (with 10 innings or more) phase of their careers. Dravid started as well as ended his test career in better form than both Ponting and Kallis. But, during their best 4 calendar year period, Ponting fared better than Kallis as well as Dravid, though all three averaged above 65 during this time. In terms of number of calendar years with more than 800 plus test runs, Dravid leads with 9, followed by Ponting with 8 and Kallis with 7.

Ponting used to be extremely dominating in Australia and not surprisingly, he averaged the highest at home. However, in foreign conditions, Dravid was ahead of the other two. While Dravid and Ponting batted mostly at 3, Kallis batted at 4 most times. Both 3 and 4 are positions which need to handle the pressure of early wickets. In such situations (coming into bat with less than 50 on the board), Kallis outperformed Ponting, who did better than Dravid.

Post 1997 (by this time, all three had spent a fair amount of time in their teams), Ponting averaged less than 40 in any calendar year 6 times, as compared to 3 each for Dravid and Kallis. For each score of 150 or more, Kallis and Ponting took about 20 innings on average, while Dravid took 26. Clearly, all three are neck to neck on consistency and performance under pressure, but Kallis can be considered slightly ahead of the other two.

Value to the team and contribution in its rise to #1

[2 years prior to #1* - ICC Test Championship System was started in 2003, but the period considered for Ricky Ponting is 1997-99.]

Since its difficult to call by just looking at consistency, I decided to take a look on how crucial these players were for their respective teams. Australia, South Africa as well as India reached #1 status with the trio in their ranks. Australia had arguably been the best test team since 1999, so I looked at Ponting’s contribution from 1997-99. Ricky Ponting averaged just 38 and really came into his own only after 2000, after Australia had already established themselves as one of the best test teams ever. Therefore, in spite of being Australia’s best batsmen in 1997-2008 phase (where the team was at its peak), he had little to do with their rise to #1.

Kallis, on the other hand, averaged over 80 in the two year period before South Africa became #1 in August of 2012. Out of his 8 hundreds in this period, 3 were brilliant knocks against the Indians at home, which helped them avoid defeat. His average in draws during this period was over a 100 and that in wins was over 150. Therefore, there is absolutely little doubt that he played an instrumental role. Dravid averaged 41, poor by his own standards before India achieved numero uno status towards the end of 2009. However, to say that he had little to do with India’s rise to number would be foolish.

In test cricket, India’s performances had been steadily improving from 2000 till they became number in 2009. In the 2000-07 phase (by this time, India was close to being the best), Dravid averaged 86 in wins, 68 in draws and India never lost a match where he scored a hundred. He played a big role in almost all overseas victories (Leeds ’02, Adelaide ’03, Rawalpindi ’04, Kingston ’06, Perth ’08)  during the 2000-10 decade.

Another aspect which proves the impact of Dravid is his contribution in the 4th innings. In matches that were won or drawn away from home(neutral included), he averaged over 100 in the 4th innings. Ponting(78) and Kallis(50) did well, but they were nowhere as good as Dravid here. Hence, in terms of value and contribution to the team, Dravid leads Kallis by a bit and is well ahead of Ponting.

Verdict

On consistency, Kallis seems to be the best, with hardly anything to chose between Ponting and Dravid. In terms of contribution to team’s rise and value, Dravid manages to outdo Kallis but by not much distance. Therefore, I believe Kallis is the best of the three, followed closely by Dravid and then Ponting at 3rd spot,  which is completely contrary to what I had thought at the beginning.

[freehitcricket]

Why play sport?

The reason I love reading books, is that I always enjoy coming across new stories and perspectives. That is exactly what has happened with Rahul Bhattacharya's "Pundits from Pakistan". The prologue throws the question "Why play sport?" onto us. I was absolutely blank when I came across this question. Much like most Indians, I picked up the sport of Cricket just instantly at a very young age. Since then I have also watched few other sports, yet this question has never popped up in my head.

The question "why play sport?" is of course completely different from "why sports are played today?". In today's world, with all the commercialization coming into the picture, sports are played because people want to invest in the game and drive profits of it. It results in revenues for sportsmen, reporters, boards and all the associated people. But why were sporting rivalries started in the first place?

According to George Orwell, a British literary giant, organized sport is nothing but "war minus shooting". He believed that all sport resulted in was division of society and in fact, many others also felt that it was a grand scheme of things to keep the masses in a state of competitive frenzy and readiness for war. While I do agree, that sport often makes us cheer for 'our own' team, therefore resulting in divisions, to call it a grand scheme of things to keep masses ready for war is definitely over the top.

Former cricketers(for example - Sir Donald Bradman) earned their bread and butter through other jobs and resources. Yet they took out time to play Cricket because they enjoyed the game so much. So, I would like to think, that it was the love of the game which pulled people towards playing and watching this sport or any other sport for that matter. Maybe it was to keep the masses fit and involved in a physical activity, or perhaps to keep the youth away from drug abuse or other wrong habits prevalent at the time.

Just a couple of pages further into the intriguing prologue, the author says:

"For, to ask the question, 'why play sport', is in my view analogous to asking the question, 'why live life' ".

"Sport is able to sum up life, able to strip it bare and put it under a drama-fulled magnifying glass."

While these statements do not answer the question, they are beautifully put. I watch sport because of the thrill associated with it, just as the 2nd statement written above expresses. When I first read the question, I had no answer, just like my reaction when I try to think reasons on 'why live life'.

[freehitcricket]

IPL and its future

The sixth edition of IPL is about to come to a close in about a fortnight. Even though I am not sure of what TRPs say, it has been an incredible success in almost every city where matches have been held. While there may be many who do not like the IPL or do not consider it as 'proper cricket' (whatever that means), for me personally, the tournament has become an addiction I don't want to get rid of.

One of the best things I noticed about this IPL is that the quality of cricket has certainly improved from the previous editions. Fielding and batting in particular have improved a lot. Even though we did see an odd dropped catch here and there, overall standard of fielding has improved. Some spectacular ones have also been taken by both youngsters from India and foreign stars. Batsmen have also become smarter and usually teams no longer seem to panic even when required run rate is over 12 for the last 6-8 overs. Bowling is probably the only aspect which hasn't improved much, particularly in the final few overs where many bowlers seem to be bowling the wrong length and playing into the batsman's hands. 

In this season, another new trend emerged. Teams have performed much better at home as compared to away, with 72% of the games won by the home team. In some cases, like with Sunrisers Hyderabad, the pitch at their home ground has really suited them. Rajasthan, Bangalore as well Mumbai have also been superb at home using the good batting surfaces to their advantage. If this trend continues in the upcoming IPLs, it will make the IPL very interesting. Roughly 9 to 10 wins are needed for a team to qualify for the play-offs, so if 5-6 teams are consistently good at home, (and win 6-7 home matches out of 8) then 2-3 crucial away wins will be the decider. Surely, IPL will be very closely contested as the final 4 teams won't be decided till the last 3-4 matches(probably like it will be this year).

There was a lot of outrage over Virat Kohli being booed at the Wankhede stadium. While the Mumbai crowd was stupid to call Virat Kohli a cheater(since it was an unlucky but fair dismissal), I do not think an Indian player being booed is a big deal. I have little doubt that when he plays for India, he will be cheered. Yuvraj Singh for example, was booed by the same crowd in IPL 3 when he was playing for KXIP, but they surely cheered for him in the 2011 World Cup. In fact, what this incident really goes to show, is that city-based loyalties and rivalries are flourishing, which is great for the IPL and its success.

Overall, city-based loyalties and teams being tough to beat at home are surely positives for the IPL, which will help in making it a success like football leagues around the world. However, there are a couple of things which can be changed or thought on. Firstly, the length of the IPL is a major concern. 72 matches in the league stage is just too many. Now, that IPL 6 has been going on for more than a month, I find it hard to remember too many matches. Close finishes or unexpected turnarounds are remembered, but that is about it. I would suggest, a 40-matches long tournament, with 36 games in league stage(4 home and 4 away for each team) and 4 play-off games.

Another important issue is the auction held after every 3 years. In the 4th edition of IPL, I realized many(including myself) were struggling to keep up with the new squads. Ideally, instead of this auction system, I would prefer a transfer window with a certain amount of transfers possible at the end of each season. No need of having completely new teams. If however, the auction system is continued, it should be held every 5 years instead of 3 and no player retention should be allowed. That way, when the auction happens in the 6th year, the team will (most likely) be absolutely new.

Apart from this, I feel the league is wonderful event and very enjoyable. Around the 4th edition, some people believed that within a couple of years, people will start getting bored of T20 and this league. However, this year we have seen full houses game after game, at almost all venues except Chennai and Mohali. So the IPL has continued to prove its critics wrong and I believe it will only grow from here on, especially if the few issues mentioned are handled properly.

[freehitcricket]

MS Dhoni in T20 cricket

MS Dhoni is a fabulous ODI batsman. Wonderful finisher, who is always calm and gets the job done on most occasions. I have absolutely no doubt in his ability in the one-day format, but its the T20 format I am not so sure of. You look at his IPL career and 11 fifties in 75 innings, when he has batted mostly at 6 or 7, is very good. There have been some superb knocks, mostly (not surprisingly) in chases. Like the onslaught on Irfan Pathan at Dharamshala or just the other day, we saw him taking on Dale Steyn and the other Hyderabad bowlers to take Chennai home.

Dhoni has shown over and over again, that he is one of the most reliable finishers in the limited overs game, who can turn it in his team's favor even when 12 runs an over are needed for the last 5-6. Many players have the big shots these days, but to get them going on a consistent basis is something that very few are able to do. MS Dhoni has done this in ODIs and IPL very nicely, but in T20Is, he hasn't been anywhere as good.

His career stats in T20Is are quite ordinary, to be frank. In 39 innings, he hasn't reached 50 once and batted with a strike rate less than 120. That for someone of his caliber is poor. Even though he mostly bats below/around 6 in T20Is, 30 innings is fair number of chances. The only good T20I knocks that one can recall him playing are 45 against South Africa back in 2007 T20 World Cup, a quick fire 46 vs Sri Lanka at Mohali in 2009 and the recent T20 with England in December 2012. Apart from these, he hasn't really fulfilled his potential in T20Is. Suresh Raina, who mostly bats at 5/6, just one position above him, has not only scored more fifties, but his strike rate has also been a lot better.

Mind you, I am not here to bash him or ask him to be dropped. I have seen very little of Micheal Bevan, so for me, he is best ODI batsmen in chases barring no one. All I am saying is, MS Dhoni can do much better in T20Is, it almost feels like he doesn't use his ability to the fullest. I wonder why that is the case and I just expect a lot more from a player of this quality. If and when he becomes more consistent, India will surely be a much better T20I side.

[freehitcricket]

On the battle within

Often, in a sport like cricket, matches are remembered and celebrated for contests and battles between players. SRT vs Warne, SRT vs McGrath, Lara vs McGrath and more recently, SRT vs Steyn as well as Clarke vs Steyn have been talking points of different series. While these battles are fascinating to watch, it means the other crucial battle is not given enough importance.

In Timeless Steel, Rohit Brijnath quotes Rahul Dravid talking about this battle when describing his efforts in the famous Adelaide test of 2003 - "That's the real beauty, when you win the battle against yourself."

It has been said by many former cricketers and experts that half the battle is in the mind. During tough times, this battle within a player's mind gets tougher. When the runs or wickets dry up, mind too starts to play tricks. It is essential to keep the belief during such times and keep doing the things that worked in more fruitful patches.

However, this battle of self-belief is not just applicable in tough times. Even during a long innings or an unrewarding day in the field, being mentally solid is very important. Batsmen cannot let the odd ball the beats them effect their concentration, just like one ineffective over should not effect a bowler's rhythm. 'Staying positive' and 'sticking to the game plan' sound very simple, but in the heat of the moment, to keep one's head, a player must stay focused and not allow doubts to creep in.

Cheteshwar Pujara's 82* at the Kotla recently showed the importance of being strong mentally. He has, at least for the time being, won the battle within himself and it was showing in that knock. On a pitch which most others found tough to handle, Pujara was batting with incredible ease. Yet, somehow between history, pitch reports, top players in opposition, tactics and hundreds of other distractions, the mental aspect is often forgotten by the general follower.

SRT's 241* in Australia back in 2003/4 where he decided to not play shots through a particular area and Rahul Dravid's 81 and 68 in Kingston 2006 where he batted longer than the entire WI team in both innings. These are two other examples, which clearly prove that when the battle within is sorted, just about any and every situation can be won over. This is a lesson, not only in cricket but also in life.