Showing posts with label brett lee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brett lee. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

International T20 is the only good T20

Regular readers of my column will know by now some of my pet peeves:
  • Cricket cheerleaders 
  • MS Dhoni batting promotions
  • The Shahid Afridi wicket celebration
  • And above all, Twenty20 cricket overkill

However the recently concluded International T20 World Cup changed my mind about one thing. There is such thing as quality, watchable Twenty20 cricket and this quality only comes from one stage, the international stage. 

Therefore my hate has been redirected now purely to domestic Twenty20 cricket, which really is nothing more than a batting circus. The recent World Cup had one key ingredient that the IPL and its various simpleton cousins do not have, top class players participating in actual teams.

Finally we get to see batsmen playing proper strokes built on technique and skill instead of swinging madly like a wood cutter on steroids. Finally we saw bowlers being able to contain them instead of serving up a volley of garbage. And most importantly, finally we saw teams playing for national pride rather than a meaningless mishmash team of licorice all-sorts.

This wasn't the IPL, this was real cricket.


 Wait... who are you guys again? © Assc Press

Monday, September 3, 2012

In the name of the Holy Spirit of Cricket !


Murali Kartik is the man most hated today in Somerset and England and even more than the Pakistani trio accused of spot-fixing. We know his crime, he Mankaded Alex Barrow after warning him earlier in the over for backing up too far. Somerset Captain Trescothick lost no time in admonishing the "despicable" act of the former Indian spinner. The crowd too booed this act.

I strongly suspect "Spirit of Cricket" is a strange slimy liquid with a mind of its own. It flows in one direction. Wherever an Indian is involved, it flows against  ! So much so, often we get flooded by this spirit.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

The SpeedFather – A tribute to Brett Lee


When Brett Lee announced his retirement from international cricket recently, it brought to end one of the finest careers a modern fast bowler could ever hope to have, taking into account all the injuries and breakdowns associated with it. A career which included being part of a World Cup win and three Ashes triumphs, and in one where he ended up with 718 international wickets, and leaving as international cricket’s tenth leading wicket taker of all time. Despite several injuries throughout his career, including some which kept him out of the 2007 World Cup and 2009 Ashes, he stayed resilient enough to trouble the best batsmen through a 13 year career. Most importantly, his retirement brought down the curtains on the career of one of that rare breed of sportsmen: a player who is respected by the opposition and loved by opposition fans.
There are lot of pace bowlers on the international circuit, but there are very few who put the ‘fast’ in fast bowling. Lee was one of the few bowlers who consistently bowled at the same frightening speeds throughout his career. He never compromised on pace, which made him a terrific player to watch when in full flow. Along with his signature high jumping and heel clicking celebrations after taking a wicket, he was a true entertainer who had the performances to match.