Relative merits, great Indian Test bowlers

As per the last three posts, this chart plots the relative effectiveness of the Indian bowlers to take 200 Test wickets. The size of the circle is their comparative wickets-per-innings (i.e. the larger the circle, the more average wickets the bowlers claims per innings).

The comparison between legspinners Chandrasekhar and Kumble is striking, while when choosing one of Bishen Bedi and Harbhajan Singh (personally, I'd opt for Erapalli Prasanna, who missed the cut by 11 wickets), one must decide on whether to value attack (Harbhajan) or defence (Bedi). The strike rates and averages are comparatively higher from the other charts in this series, which is presumably a reflection on low, slow subcontinental pitches.

On Tony Greig's Cowdrey lecture

Tony Greig makes a lot of sense. Re-read that sentence because I probably won't type it again for a while – at least not while he consistently forces rubbish memorabilia down our gestalt craw on the telly. But, in his recent Cowdrey Lecture on the Spirit of Cricket, the man in the panama hat spoke passionately and – for the most part – incisively as to the state of the sport and issues facing the game in general.

He ruffled some feathers throughout, but what else could you expect? It's Tony Greig, for crying out loud! As far as he can make out, many of world cricket's problems come with the effective power of veto that India holds over the ICC; this, when combined with his unfortunate reluctance to address the Indian cricket cognoscenti as “the BCCI” rather than “India” means that Twitter was alight this morning with comment both moderate and vitriolic.

Tony Greig is not a buffoon. Occasionally he seems like it, but he is neither incompetent nor stupid. In fact, his references to legendary cricket writer E.W. Swanton and Alec Bedser were touching memories, sad in nature and an insight into a complex and – in his own special way – honourable man. It's a guess, and I may be doing some people a great disservice, but I'd hazard such personal, relational disappointments would be scarce in the autobiographies of many current cricketers.

That said, Greig is indubitably guilty of poor choices from time to time, as are we all. Unfortunately, his happen to be extremely high-profile. On this occasion, while highlighting some of those past choices, he unwittingly stumbled into another in generalising a cricketing culture too freely.

However, to dismiss all he has to say as wrong or even “establishment” just because the speaker has a past history of gaffes is incredibly short-sighted. Those gaffes shouldn't discount his every utterance, but instead mean his words must be examined carefully and sometimes taken with a grain of salt. I doubt Greig himself would suggest any differently, neither did he suggest his view was gospel – merely his opinion. While they must be considered, his past cases of foot-in-mouth have been used too often to flay Tony Greig without proper cause.

When invited to speak about a subject on which he is passionate, he gave his opinions. Any suggestions of ulterior motives or personal agendas are bunk. He addressed first and foremost the questions he has in regards to the game's future direction, a bearing linked inextricably with the globally-nuanced “Spirit of the Game”.

How an oration is received is a very personal process. Each listener will take home a completely different message as it relates to them and their world view. With that said, in my opinion the kernel of the lecture was a call for reconciliation and to attempt to move forward together.

It was unfortunate that the reference became somewhat confused, but Greig spoke of Nelson Mandela and the honour in which he is held by peoples everywhere – a man who was wronged, yet rather than wreaking his revenge when coming to power, did what he thought was best for the nation of South Africa. Mandela's global legacy will be one of reconciliation achieved through his struggle both as one of the oppressed and as a member of the powerful.

It's almost never perfect, and it doesn't solve everything, but reconciliation is an action of forgiving debts. It's a big ask because often those wronged have been so unfairly treated, and it certainly doesn't excuse or wipe clean past actions.  Though clumsy in his execution, Greig's suggestion is that giant steps can be made when parties approach each other not with self-interest but collective growth at heart.  Thinking of him altruistically, he then contends that because the BCCI (and by extension, India as a whole) holds so much power in the game, leadership on that nebulous issue of "Spirit" must come from that them.

The reason Greig's speech focused so much on India – how I wish he had said BCCI! – is simply because the BCCI are now the global creditors of cricket and find themselves in such a position after being mistreated for a long time.  In my opinion, Greig's point is valid and his premise strong; however he can be condemned for failing to separate the game's governing body from the nation as a whole. He has called for reconciliation, yet in some ways made it harder to achieve by misnaming those he hopes to entreat.

It was entirely Tony Greig – observant yet flawed, an exercise in his humanness.  Far from perfect but also far from an attack on India or their cricket.

Because Greig's speech was on the Spirit of Cricket it behoves us therefore as supporters and fans of the game to accept it with the grace inherent in that same Spirit of Cricket. That doesn't mean automatically redressing each of his suggested action points, but accepting his point of view – as his perspective if not a comprehensive one. Believe it or not – and the internet would love us to believe “not” – it is possible to accept someone's point graciously but still disagree with it. To shout him down is neither in the spirit of the game nor any decent spirit.

Some may suggest that Greig deserves no grace because his speech was delivered with none. Personally, I'd disagree with that, but surely – and to my mind, this is Greig's take-home point – if someone has operated without grace then the higher road, the more constructive path, is to be gracious in return rather than seek vengeance or simply dismissing them. This simple dictum is the core of many religions. From a global perspective, how often is revenge or even “getting mine” the way forward?

My Favourite Cricketer: VVS Laxman by Minal of Granger Gab

We've invited some of the very best cricket writers and bloggers to tell us why certain players stand out for them above all others.  This week, Minal of Granger Gab and The Sight Screen writes of the most stylish Indian of them all, a man whose nickname was the ultimate compliment: VVS Laxman.  Minal tweets @granger_gab, and we really suggest you follow her.

 As much as we love to deny it, we all have a secret crush - the one we adore but won’t admit because it would mean sharing loyalties with our one true love. My favourite cricketer has always been and will always be Rahul Dravid. When the Balanced Sports and World Cricket Watch team asked me to pen a piece for this series, I saw that Rahul was already spoken for, and thought it best to write about my secret cricketing crush – the Very Very Very Special Laxman.

In fact VVS Laxman is the secret crush of every Indian fan. He is the guy that unites the Tendulkar, Dravid and Dada fans alike. VVS the last of the Fab Four to hit the scene - his batting - exquisite, beautiful , elegant - a delight to watch; one that could tempt many a staunch supporters of any other cricketer to commit infidelity when it came to this man.

After witnessing the birth of two future batting stalwarts at Lords 1996, India wasn’t quite prepared for the sublime batting that would put her in a trance for the next 16 years.

November, 1996 Motera – Ahmedabad Vs South Africa

On a devilish pitch, probably one of the worst test wickets, a young man of 22 held fort in the second innings to get 51 after India has conceded a small lead of 21 runs. No Indian batsmen had got a 50 in that match barring this young lad. When I was watching him bat, the teenage me turned to my dad and asked “Papa since when did the rules allow a batsman to bat twice in the same innings, why is Azhar playing again?” Laxman reminded me of Azhar then– still does; the silken grace, the wristy shots on the on-side, the gift of impeccable timing. These batsmen from Hyderabad seemed to be blessed with a batting style as delectable as the Biryani from that land.

But sadly as has been the case with Indian cricket, a permanent place in the packed middle order was always going to be tough. Ganguly came back from his injury and VVS found himself out of the side in the 3rd test of that series. VVS was later asked to open and he never really succeeded in that position; but his affair with Australia started at that very position. In the 99-00 tour VVS wove his first spell of magic on the Aussies at Sydney. He decimated the Aussie attack single-handedly. His 167 in a team total of 261 was intoxication at its best – even today while revisiting the innings you will drown in the beauty and wide array of strokes on display - the ease in his batting, the delicacy of his wrist play. As a friend once said, “Sachin is God, but there are strokes that Laxman plays at times, which Sachin would only dream of.” I have never dared to debate with him on this point.

Post this series and the one at home against South Africa, Laxman put his foot down and refused to open. He went back to the domestic grind, scored big hundreds and forced the selectors to consider him as a middle-order bat. After a year, Laxman came back to the Indian side and the rest as they say is history. VVS’s 281 Vs Australia in 2001 still gives me goosebumps when I watch the VCD of the match. He was the only one who put his hand up in the first innings – getting 59 in a team total of 171 and the last man to be out. Trailing by 274 with the test and series loss looming large, VVS walked in at number 3 and scripted a miracle along with Rahul Dravid. What he achieved with that knock did not merely amount to an Indian victory to be stored in cricket’s record books, with it he restored the shaken belief of a billion Indian fans. In that one knock, he truly reflected the attitude that John Wright and Ganguly were trying to build into this team – to make them world beaters; he showed that his team was not the one to give up, had the courage to conquer all demons and withstand all attacks. That knock laid the first brick to India’s success in test cricket – of achieving the Numero Uno position. In that one knock – Laxman weaved his magic forever on us.

What I learned this Summer

As part of a series on The Sledge, several online columnists were invited to submit what this past cricket season has taught them.  Featured contributors included cricket blogosphere stalwarts Ant Sims of Wicket Maiden, Dave Siddall of World Cricket Watch and Subash Jayaraman of The Sight Screen.  The following was Balanced Sports' contribution.

What I learned this summer:

Andrew Hilditch was really, really bad.

Let's not split hairs, I already knew this – so did everyone except Mitchell Johnson. But John Inverarity's relatively steady start at the helm of the Australian selection panel threw Hilditch's stint as Chairman of Selectors into sharp relief.

The guy wasn't bad, but comically inept.

Australian cricket has for years been regarded as a bastion against petty griping. Like any good marriage, the players and establishment held onto their grievances, only to let them pour out in flare-ups – like, say, World Series Cricket or the A-Team's Rebel Tour of South Africa. However, once there's been some resolution and a few years in which the establishment re-entrenches themselves into “best practice”, then suddenly Australia's competitive again.

With the ascent of journeymen like Ed Cowan and Dan Christian to the forefront of the national setup, Australia appears to be once more rewarding effort rather than physical gifts. This suggests the trough into which Australian cricket sunk wasn't so much the effects Warne, Langer and McGrath retiring, but of Hilditch's inconsistent selection methodology.

In his five years as head honcho, Hilditch debuted twenty-nine players, a neat half of which didn't play more than six Tests. It seems the only people he held to account were the newbies. Hilditch looked at players much like the fifteen year old who lusts at every girl who walks by. His tendencies varied from the youthful (Steven Smith) to the old bags (Bryce McGain).

Hilditch is gone, banished to the vagaries of law practice. Which is good, because we can still feel good about despising him.

The World realised they should have been giving Tendulkar runs a long time ago

Australia's bowling lineup isn't a patch on the attacks Sachin Tendulkar has flayed around the world for a generation. Siddle's pretty good, Harris is an injury looking for a body part, James Pattinson seems to have a bit about him, Hilfenhaus is good if your TV isn't Hi-Def while Nathan Hauritz Lyon failed to trouble any recognised batsmen for the entire Border-Gavaskar series. You could call the ugly stepsisters – in Siddle's case you'd be spot on, as the man has a head like a kicked-in biscuit tin.

But no matter how disheveled the Aussie attack, it's a novelty to write that Tendulkar failed with the bat. More poignantly, he couldn't complete that troublesome hundredth International hundred that's becoming an Obelix-sized bugbear for him and increasingly-frantic Indian media outlets.

Which is confusing, because he's broken nearly all the batting records there are. Records shouldn't trouble him, and especially this one, because it just doesn't mean much (it's a compilation of ODI and Test figures). However, it is a very pretty thing to have on one's resume.

Like an average Joe trying to impress a model, Sachin's got performance anxiety – something none of us would have attributed to such an accomplished player. The cricket world has now realised that bowling to Tendulkar is a lot easier when he's got 99 tons under his belt and they wish he'd just gotten there sooner.

Virat Kohli will be welcomed by Australian fans for the next decade

Aussie fans have always had someone from opposing teams to hate. We don't mind arrogance and cockiness from our own lot (unless it's Dean Jones), but when stuff is thrown at our boys, we get all Simon Katich pissy.

The ultimate example of this is Douglas Jardine. The last two decades have been rife with people who rubbed Aussie cricketers, and the populace at large, the wrong way. For the most part, these guys have been good players, which has only reinforced the average Skippy's frustration at them.

It reads almost biblically.

In the beginning, there was Douglas Jardine. Jardine begat Trevor Bailey, who batted with slowness of a one-legged (and dead) mule. Bailey begat Tony Greig, who in turn begat Richard Hadlee. Hadlee had a son, whose name was Pat Symcox, who in turn brought Sourav Ganguly into being. Ganguly bred his own nation of irritants, but none were more irritating than the spinner, Harbhajan Singh.

This was the first Border-Gavaskar series since 1999 in which Harbhajan Singh didn't play – and for the most part (and perhaps because they lost so badly), the team apparently didn't have anyone for us to actively root against: there was Tendulkar's timelessness, Dravid's stoic nature, Yadav's constant four-balls …

Except Virat Kohli. While succeeding leading the Indian batting averages, he p****d off every Australian he saw with an attitude as calming as the new tabasco-flavoured Red Bull.

And this will see him welcomed on these shores for the rest of his career – probably with the typical Aussie mix of grudging admiration and febrile swearing.

And on the eighth day, Harbhajan had a son, whose name was Virat Kohli.

My Favourite Cricketer: Anil Kumble, by Rishabh Bablani, the Cricket Nerd

In our series "My Favourite Cricketer", we invite the best writers and bloggers to tell us why the look upon a certain player more fondly than others.  Today, Rishabh Bablani of The Cricket Nerd describes one member of the "600 Club", Anil Kumble.

The lasting image of Indian cricket in the 1990s is that of a young Sachin rising to prominence, fulfilling the prophecies that had marked him as a demi-god early on.

However, only a few months after the Test debut of India’s greatest batsman, another young man began his Test career; a man who was India’s steadiest, most consistent bowler in the 90s; the man who would eventually become India’s highest wicket-taker.

If you’re thinking of Venkatapathy Raju or Atul Wassan, stop. I’m speaking of Anil Kumble, one-third of the 600-wicket club – alongside fellow leggie Shane Warne and fellow Beethoven-lover (I cannot confirm that) Muttiah Muralitharan.

My own fascination with Anil Kumble can’t really be attributed to any one thing in particular. Entering my teen years was like waking up from the Matrix; I was suddenly aware of cricket and decided I liked it. India had been beaten in the World Cup final a few months earlier, and now they were playing the champions in their backyard. I didn’t know many of the players, so I was free to make my own judgments without being influenced by reputation.

I saw Kumble running in to bowl over after over, seemingly every day, with the bouncy run-up and the skillful release from high above his wiry frame. I got to see plenty of him in my first full Test series, because he bowled in excess of 40 overs in four out of the six Australian innings, for a total of 24 wickets, the mastermind behind India’s closest attempt yet at winning a series in Australia. His 8-141 in Sydney is one of my favorites, and is unfortunately hard to come by.

It was easy for me to relate to him. Like him, I started playing cricket attempting to be a fast bowler (I never got past slow-medium full-tosses), before becoming a legspinner. And like him, I was a colossal nerd. And I don’t mean he looked like a nerd just because he once wore glasses three sizes bigger than Daniel Vettori – he was the real deal, as you can see in this picture below.

http://www.desipad.com/cricket-pictures-wallpapers/62094-anil-kumbles-career-pictures.html

His relatable geekiness is the result of being a keen student – he succeeded in becoming a mechanical engineer before he played Test cricket. As didn’t turn the ball a great deal, he presumably puts his finely-tuned mind to the task, seeing every batsman as a Physics quiz, asking question after question until he found the answer. He found the smallest chink in a batsman’s technique and worked on it until he took the wicket. Aiding him was his arsenal of deliveries – the stock leg-break, the wrong ‘un and probably several different kinds of flippers.

courtesy: cricinfo.com

His strongest attribute, though, is considered to be his never-say-die attitude towards bowling – which helped him and his team when they most needed it. If the first half of his career ended perfectly with his classic 10-74 against Pakistan in 1999, the second half began with injury and the rise of another spinner, Harbhajan Singh. With his position under threat for the first time in his career, Kumble bowled despite the pain of a broken jaw in the West Indies in 2002, and then developed his bowling to much greater effectiveness – the noughties yielded 355 Test wickets, a vast improvement on the 264 wickets in the previous nine years.

The numerous prolific years since 2002 led to him eventually leading India in 2007, two months after his entertaining maiden Test century against England. It was a short transitive phase, with the captaincy expected to pass to MS Dhoni at the end. Nevertheless, Kumble led well, and India won a home series against Pakistan for the first time in 27 years and his diplomacy was vital during the controversy-filled tour to Australia.

Age and injuries set in again in 2008, unfortunately, and by then he was well past his best (though he would come back strongly in the IPL). He retired mid-series in the home Tests against Australia (who I notice have been mentioned quite a few times in this piece).

I knew the retirement was coming and had even secretly hoped for it when he was going wicketless.  I couldn’t bear to see this shadow of who had been such a great bowler. When it came, I wept anyway. Not openly, of course, but with the minds’ eyes of my mind’s eyes.

He ended his career at the right time, when the Indian candle was burning bright, when they were on the road to the World number One ranking, when it was right for young players to be given their trials for the future. With Anil Kumble gone, India cannot be sure of winning even on a turning track because they have no one as good to exploit it. It’s clear that he wants to be a part of the behind-the-scene improvement in Indian cricket, but if the board cannot do whatever it needs to to retain his services, they do not deserve success.

I leave you with one of the best things I’ve ever watched, a profile of him from 1995, when he was with Northamptonshire. 

Exit strategy: He bowled approximately 55,000 deliveries in international cricket, around 6000 more than Sachin has faced. 

Rishabh can be found on Twitter @cricketnerdist 

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Shaun Marsh - the galling truth

On Monday, we shared a graphic detailing Shaun Marsh's horrendous form against India.  His slump has become epic - the only slump that hangs about as much in the modern memory was Ken Rutherford's near career-devastating debut series where the teen prodigy was worked over by a West Indies attack in their absolute pomp.

With Marsh, not only is his footwork weighed down but also his confidence.  In isolation, his batting average of 31 after ten Test innings could be plenty worse.  However, he finds himself in a situation where all around him have made multiple scores, making his lack of runs an even more glaring tribute to self-doubt.  But how bad is his form slump?  To find out, w need to frame his scores contextually.

Unfortunately for Marsh, a wide-angle lens does him no favours.  Each member of the current Australian top order's batting average had exemplified elements of stabilisation by the tenth innings; by each player's twentieth knock their averages had effectively stabilised.  Mike Hussey is of course the outrider after starting his career being exceptionally hard to dismiss.

 As one would expect, batting averages tend to steady as the number of innings increases - firstly because you obtain more consistent results and secondly because the player has established themselves as a Test quality player (or not).  Trends are easy to spot in such graphs - and Marsh's seems likely to steady at around 30, significantly below the Test batsman's Mendoza line of 40.

Perhaps it's not about youth, it's about situation.  Taking all batsmen as equal, the following graph plots Marsh's average since debut with all those batsmen Australia have used.

As you can see, Marsh's form has slipped below that of the particularly unlamented Phil Hughes and even below the spectacularly out of form Brad Haddin.  So it's not circumstance either.  Marsh simply has plumbed the depths of form not seen since Dean Jones in Pakistan.  It's time to move on.

All averages include the first innings from the current Test in Adelaide, but not the second.

Shaun Marsh's Test Average

Any reason to doubt the return of Shane Watson to the Australian side?  After his excellent 141 on debut at Kandy and a subsequent 81 straight after, Shaun Marsh's form has hit the toilets.  Apart from 44 in his first innings in South Africa (after/during which he suffered a debilitating back injury), his scores have continued to plummet.  With another failure today, it looks increasingly like Shane Watson will return to the Test side and bat 3 while the burgeoning partnership of Ed Cowan and David Warner faces up to the new ball.

Time-Lapse photostudy: Why Australia's batting collapses like an accordion

It's not a matter of good bowling - though it must be said the Indians have bowled well.  Neither is it a matter of a lack of application, unless you're Brad Haddin.  To paraphrase Python (the Holy Grail), it isn't where it grips it - it's a simple question of weight ratios.

Time-Lapse photostudy: The Ed Cowan leave

Whenever we get the chance, we try to put up (very short) photostudies of certain aspects of live sport.  Here, we feature the defining action of the first day of the Boxing Day Test: Test debutant Ed Cowan leaving a good ball.  This delivery also happened to be the first ball of the series, from Ishant Sharma, and the first time Cowan faced up in a Test match.

My Favourite Cricketer: Sourav Ganguly by Christopher David

Throughout this summer of cricket and beyond, Balanced Sports and World Cricket Watch are inviting cricket writers from around the globe to tell us who they consider to be their favourite cricketer. Today we delve into Poshin’s World as Christopher David selects the ‘Prince of Calcutta’, Sourav Ganguly.  
Image (c) courtesy of guardian.co.uk

Being an Indian cricket lover in the current era is a privilege (besides the last couple of months admittedly).  Never has the Indian team looked so good and Indian cricket's last decade has without doubt been its highest point.  In that time, a bunch of ragtorn boys have matured into a machine intent on winning at all cost; over the course of the journey winning T20 and ODI World Cups and been the number one Test team for 20 months straight.  Never has cricket been brighter for the Indian fan and I feel all this success has been made possible due to the dream of a man known as the ‘Prince of Calcutta’.

Sourav Ganguly is my favourite cricketer.  In a country boasting mountain-sized legends Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and Anil Kumble, he is the one I adore more.  Why?  Let me explain.

Ganguly wouldn’t win any ‘most loved cricketer’ awards.  He has his share of critics, doubters, and haters.  As a player who always tried to be the best he could be and one who expected to win at all costs even if it did mean overstepping the line a little, he played not to make friends but to win.  The opposition found some of his tactics quite immature, but the man wasn’t to change.  He stuck to his guns and remained one of India’s true princes till the end.

Born into a very rich family, young Sourav Ganguly lived luxuriously, lacking little.  Cricket wasn’t always Ganguly’s dream as he was first seduced by football, but once his brother - who played for Bengal - introduced him to the game, the maharaja we now know was born.  Ganguly the right-handed batsman transformed into a left-handed batsman so that he could actually use his brother’s kit!

His rise was fast and by 1992 was wearing the blue of India.  He didn't have much initial success and was soon dropped, recalled in 1996, to make his Test debut against England.  He scored a century at Lords and established himself as a player for the future.  His century in the very next match re-established that fact.  From then on, Ganguly went from strength to strength with 183 against Sri Lanka in the ’99 World Cup his highest point.


It wasn’t until 2000 that I actually started to notice this man, when he took over the reins of the Indian team after the sport plunged into disrepute.  With a strong desire to win he groomed a set of young men he thought fit to be in his team and tried to put Indian cricket back on the road.

The 2001 series against Australia was special in so many ways, and it was then when Ganguly and the Indian team truly started to believe they could achieve the impossible.  The foundation was laid as India embarked on a new road with a proud skipper who wanted the best for his team, and a Kiwi coach supporting him.  Within three years of the match-fixing scandal, Ganguly's men made the final of the 2003 World Cup.  Ganguly had put a new Indian outfit on wheels and rolled the wagon proudly in the international parade.

As a person, Ganguly is a proud human being who will never ever back down from a fight.  This is reflected in the cricket he played and the way he led the team.  Ganguly was adamant on having players like Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh in his team irrespective of what others thought.  Rumour has it he had played Harbhajan only once in the nets before when he asked for his inclusion in the 2001 series against Australia.  I doubt whether these players would have ever made the team had it not been for Ganguly.  Also, being a fighter, Ganguly never let any moment go and was always in the opposition’s face trying to get under their skin.  Coming in his own time to the toss, and his aloofness in observing certain traditions earned Ganguly the name ‘Lord Snooty’ by Wisden writers.

As a cricketer who wore his heart on his sleeves, Ganguly spared no one.  Even his own team mates weren’t spared. As a skipper, he demanded everything from his players.  He was a cruel task master who also possessed a sense of humour. When asked whether he was a ‘good bad boy’ or a ‘bad good boy’ in an interview, he smiled and replied, ‘why don’t you answer that?’

Controversy and the name Ganguly seem synonymous and that's probably one of the reasons he is so disliked.  The Greg Chappell incident was unfortunate, left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth and many Indians were offended at the fact a foreign coach had the nerve to sack Dada – the maharaja of India.  Ganguly’s 2007 comeback really earned my admiration.  Against all odds, he fought his way back into the team to play under the same regime that only years before oversaw his exit.   It was now that the older, wiser and more mature Sourav emerged; one who for the first time set aside his ego to become a mentor for the younger players.  The steely resolve with which he played and proved doubters wrong made the man responsible for his sacking admit that he had never seen Sourav play better. Ganguly finally bowed out of international cricket, but the sagas continue in the IPL.

“On the off-side, first there is God, then there is Ganguly” Rahul Dravid on Ganguly.

For me, Ganguly will always be the Bengal tiger who taught India that it could indeed play with the big boys of cricket.  He built a team which not only believed, but tasted that very principle.  Being India’s best left-handed batsmen has its own accolades, but in my mind, his off-side shots will linger forever in my memory.  Though his technique against short deliveries may have been his undoing, but 18000+ runs in international cricket is the stuff of fable.  Who can forget him dancing down the wicket to spinners to loft them over long on?  Has anyone played the great Muralitharan better?  I highly doubt it.

Aside from his seemingly myraid faults, Ganguly's impact on Indian cricket has been colossal. Despite all the controversies, you can hate or love the man called ‘the prince of Calcutta’, but you he remains impossible to ignore.  I’ll forever love and cherish cricket's bad boy.

Christopher tweets @poshin_david



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My Favourite Cricketer: Rahul Dravid by Sujith Krishnan

In today's installment of "My Favourite Cricketer", Sujith Krishnan takes a look at that most overshadowed of Indian batsmen.

Coming from India, I'm sure it surprises many that my favourite cricketer is not the little master, Sachin Tendulkar. However his understudy is often overlooked, a champion who has serenely gone about his business in the most religious manner, happy to remain in the shadows of his more illustrious team-mates Ganguly, Tendulkar and Sehwag. He's the most celebrated wall after the Great Wall of China but could be better known as Mr. Dependable. For nearly twenty years, Rahul Dravid has acted as India's spine and remains the player to whom the country turns when it finds itself in a critical situation.

He burst onto the scene with a brilliant performance in a Test at Lords against England in 1996. He managed ninety-six while batting at six in what would now be regarded as a typical Dravidesque performance. He's rarely been dislodged since: he's the only Indian to have scored a Test century in every Test playing nation andis also one of those rare cricketers whose ‘away’ batting average is higher than at home. Though he plays every shot in the book, he may not possess the skill and talent of Tendulkar or the destructiveness of Sehwag but is elegant, proficient and commanding in his own right.

Rahul Dravid isn't someone who often takes the attack to the opposition. His style is determined and occasionally veers towards the mind-numbing. But that style effectively takes the heart out of opponents in a politically correct, workmanlike and utterly conventional way. Often where others fail, he has supported Indian expectations, always holding up his end, often while other batsmen play their shots around him. It's not his size, skill or panache which is imposing, but his presence.

While known popularly as "The Wall", perhaps he would be more accurately called "The Floor", for it is him on whom Indian innings are built. He has glorified this unspectacular role for over 15 years against all comers and, more importantly, raised his game away from home. On faster pitches, he often became the foundation on which nothing was built as his teammates were destroyed by steeple and speed. Rahul Dravid can play this role because he knows his own game: to bat to one's strengths and never be perturbed by aggression and flamboyance shown by partners or bowlers at the other end. He values his wicket as he would his firstborn, making opposition bowlers dismiss him strategically rather than due to a rash shot. 

At the scale at which Dravid amasses runs, choosing his best knock is a futile exercise - there are so many, under so many varied conditions and circumstances. However, one must mention his 180 againstAustralia at Eden Gardens in 2001 during one of the most dramatic Test matches in history. He and VVS Laxman came together with the team facing a 250-run deficit and by the end of the following day, the unbeaten duo had built a lead of 384, paving the way for India’s most historic Test win. Having been heavily criticized by former players and commentators prior to the match, Dravid’s gesticulated celebration towards the commentary box on reaching his century was probably the only occasion I can remember where his emotions got the better of him thoughout his entire career. 

Another match-saving effort was his 233 in Adelaide in 2003. Arriving at the crease after India had lost four quick wickets, Dravid batted like a warrior to give India an outside chance of winning their first Test match in Australia for 22 years. Outside chance begat a victory and, fittingly, it was he who hit the winning runs. He followed this in the historic series against arch-rivals Pakistan by scoring a majestic 270 in the decisive Rawalpindi match to win India the series. In cricket, or almost any sport, the ability to thrive under pressure is the most respected and desired character trait. Not only did Rahul Dravid survive under those pressures, but he relished the chance.

Despite being one of the best, The Wall hasn't been an automatic inclusion in the ODI team for some time. With a nickname like that, who's surprised?! Though he didn't make the squad for the World Cup this year, find me someone happier at India's success - you won't. He had contributed to India's ascent to the top, one of the elite group to score over 10,000 runs in both forms of the game, and it was time for him to relax and enjoy.

You'd not hear him quote statistics like that, though. It would be brash, unseemly and uncouth to brag about one's achievements, not something a gentleman and team-player would do. For India, no-one else has batted in every position from one to eight as well as wicket-keeping as he did at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. In typical Dravidesque fashion, he used the opportunity to evolve into a world-class closer.

My favourite memory of Rahul Dravid is not of an shot, innings or result. It came as captain when he declared in a 2004 Test against Pakistan at Multan. It seems a perfectly normal thing to do - declare when your team is in a winning position. Not when the darling of India, Sachin Tendulkar, is not out on 194. But when The Wall thought it gave India the tactical advantage to close their innings, he did so amidst the expected outcry of a billion horrified fans. It takes a wall to deflect so much criticism, which left him, Sachin and the team unruffled.

Rahul Dravid is happy to watch India succeed from within and from the outside. He can be proud as the foundation for much of India's recent success. Without doubt, Rahul Dravid is one of the best to have ever graced Indian cricket fields and a perfect role model to aspiring cricketers. Moreover, he is an embodiment of discipline and integrity, someone who has never rested on past glories and constantly strives for excellence.

Every monument to achievement starts with a Wall. 

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My Favourite Cricketer: Sachin Tendulkar, by Subash Jayaraman

In a series called "My Favourite Cricketer", it was only a matter of time before Sachin Tendulkar was nominated. Fittingly, this tribute is by Subash Jayaraman of The Cricket Couch, who has contributed to both Balanced Sports and World Cricket Watch.

“Gentlemen, Tendulkar never fails”, said the elderly selector. This wasn’t uttered after Sachin Tendulkar had captured the imagination of a cricket-crazy nation or after the finest leg spin bowler to play the game admitted to having nightmares because of Tendulkar. It was on the eve of the Indian national team selection to the tour of West Indies in 1989. Tendulkar wasn’t 16 yet. The selector was responding to doubts from other gentlemen in the selection panel about exposing a 15-year old to the might of Ambrose and Walsh.

I was 13. I had to look up the meaning of the word “wunderkid” in a dictionary, as it had recently entered my vocabulary through the several articles on newspapers and magazines praising this precocious batting talent coming out of the Bombay cricket scene. He was lighting up scoreboards at every level he played and was destined to take over the mantle of the next great Indian batsman from Sunil Gavaskar.

With a mop of curly hair peeking out from the sides of his grill-less helmet, a boy amongst men took the first steps of an international career not showing signs of slowing down even 22 years later in Pakistan. My family did not have a television set at that time and I had to imagine the ambience that Tendulkar must’ve walked out to at Karachi from radio commentary and newspaper reports the next day. My school mates and I gushed about the gumption in this little boy-man to halt the senior Pakistani bowler in his run up so that he could have everything just the way he wanted it - perfect. The legend was born when he was dealt a bloody nose in his debut test but refused medical attention to prove a point to everyone around him that, despite his teenybopper looks, he belonged on the stage where men went at each other’s throats.

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Old habits die hard. I was back in India after a gap of 9 years. There was a test series going on between the top two sides in the world – India and South Africa and the World Number One ranking was at stake. The match was interestingly poised - but then Tendulkar got out. My brother, nearly 20 years my senior – I learned my cricket from him – got up, turned the TV off and walked away. I was a bit distracted and had missed the dismissal. When I inquired, pat came the response: “Tendulkar is out. What is left to watch?” This wasn't an unusual scene in the 90’s but I was a bit surprised to see it in 2010, even after the successes the Indian team has had and the team's ability to forge towards wins without overly relying on contribution from Tendulkar.

Greg Baum once wrote in The Age, “I was on a night train winding down from Simla to Kalka that stopped halfway for refreshments at a station lit by flaming torches. On a small television screen wreathed in cigarette smoke in the corner of the dining room Tendulkar was batting in a match in Mumbai. No one moved or spoke or looked away. The train was delayed by 20 minutes. Not until Tendulkar was out could the world resume its normal timetables and rhythms.”

Every thing stopped in India for Tendulkar and Tendulkar moved everything for India.

This is what Tendulkar continues to represent for a large part of the country’s population. He burst onto the cricket arena, captured the nation’s collective imagination and people saw in him and his battles on the field a reflection of their own struggles in their day-to-day lives. When he waged battles, single-handedly willing India to improbable victories, he began to personify the hopes and dreams of millions of Indians.

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The last 15 years Indian cricket has seen four of the best middle order batsmen, perhaps even the game has ever seen. Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar. Each of these batsmen brought their own inimitable styles to the game and cricket is richer for it. The studious, bloody-mindedness of Dravid, the elegance of Ganguly and the lazy ease and fabulous wrist work of Laxman – you can’t go wrong with any of them as your favorite cricketer, but Tendulkar was all that and some.

A perfectly balanced stance, the pure arc of the bat, the still head, nimble feet, swift transfer of weight made Tendulkar a delight to watch. No wonder The Don thought of Tendulkar to be the closest in batting style to him.

When he began his international career he played with the sort of flair and flamboyance only the fearlessness of youth can bring. He played the most audacious shots against the toughest of the bowlers. He was wont to play shots “on the up” to the quickest of the bowlers as he picked the length very early. Ian Healy is known to have said the century that Tendulkar scored at lightning quick WACA in 1992 was the best display of cuts and pulls he has seen from a batsman from outside of Australia. In the same tour, Merv Hughes is reputed to have told the then Australian captain Allan Border, “This little prick is gonna end up making a lot more runs than you A.B.” How prescient of Hughes that was.

Not only has Tendulkar gone ahead of Border but he has smashed the record books in to smithereens and has set an almost impossible benchmark for greatness and longevity. You know all the stats and the records, so there's little point in me regurgitating them for you here.

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There is a video of the young school boy Tendulkar being interviewed. Give it a whirl. I’ll wait.

Welcome back. Did you hear the part when he was asked whether he would like to face the Malcolm Marshalls of the world? His response: “I prefer facing pacemen as the ball would come on to the bat”. So matter of fact. So Tendulkar. That’s a boy not even 16 yet. If not a batting genius, what else?

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He is the pride of India. Everybody wants him. Everybody wants to be him. He was the first mega-star of the cricket world in terms of revenues from commercials. When he said, “Boost is the secret of my energy”, we believed him. When the dark clouds of match-fixing robbed us of our innocence in 2000. When Tendulkar said, “We will get through this”, We believed him. Whenever he stepped on to the field, we believed in him.

When, after hitting the winning runs in Chennai, he said of the terrible tragedy that befell his hometown Mumbai in 2008 “It's not only for the people of Mumbai, it's for all of us. We're Indians and that is how I look at it and I'd like to dedicate this hundred to all the people who have gone through such terrible times”, we shed tears of joy and sorrow.

When he was carried on the shoulders of his teammates for a victory lap at his homeground of Wankhede earlier this year after grabbing the one trophy that had eluded him and young Virat Kohli said, “He has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years and it’s about time we carried him”, we felt our hearts fill with joy for this dedicated servant of Indian cricket. You may not be a fan of the Indian cricket team, but at that moment, I am sure you felt unconditional happiness for this player who has for so long filled our consciousness with so many batting masterpieces.

We have seen many geniuses fall. History is littered with the remnants of athletes that seemed almost super-human. Tiger Woods comes to mind immediately. Even Shane Warne. Even with a billion pairs of prying eyes watching his every move, Tendulkar has pretty much lived a scandal free life. He is humble and defers to the people that came before him. Every kid who has picked up a bat since 1989 probably wanted to be like Sachin: some of those kids actually play alongside him for India. But every parent in India wants their kids to be like Sachin the way he was off the cricket field and that’s the best compliment one can ever receive: A good, decent human being, a good husband and a father.

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Cricket: Jane Austen's World Cup

by Ben Roberts

For Anita, a Jane Austen lover and wife of a cricket tragic.

It is often said that sporting teams will take on individual characteristics that differentiate them from others. Describing these characteristics need not be limited merely to the mundanely clichéd terms of sport; they can come from the literary world.

Lying in bed thinking of how best to describe each of our World Cup challengers I realised how each of them fit seamlessly (in my own mind) into Jane Austen’s Victorian tale of Pride & Prejudice. See below, team’s are in alphabetical order.

Australia – Lydia Bennett: Gets what they desire in the end, however do not please others with the manner in which they do so, including their own ‘family’.

Bangladesh – Mr Bennett: Have some talent within them but are rarely taken seriously.

Canada & Kenya – The Bingley Sisters: Serve no purpose in the tournament except to ruin the future ambitions of Ireland.

England – Elizabeth Bennett: Like Lizzy, the English supporter lives a life of undue frustration and complication.

Ireland – Jane Bennett: With their coloured hair and pure joy in victory they are the simple souls of this competition.

India – Mr Wickham: Describe their motives as being pure however are believed by many to just be in it for the money.

Netherlands – Mr Collins: Existence is based purely on the patronage of one individual.

New Zealand – Mary Bennett: The poorer sibling of many, they have little talent but try hard.

Pakistan – Mrs Bennett: Can hold it together for short periods of time but likely to collapse into tantrum at any moment.

South Africa – Mr Darcy: The look and resource of a champion team however regularly cock it up at inappropriate moments.

Sri Lanka – Mr Bingley: Talent and riches and a zest for the game.

West Indies – Charlotte Lucas: Well past their glory years now, will settle for anything resembling success.

Zimbabwe – Lady Catherine de Burgh: More a reflection on the administrative leader of Zimbabwean cricket, a dictatorial and manipulative individual only concerned about their own end.

Like Austen’s tale we already seen the Netherlands bother England with more attention than one would feel comfortable about, and seemingly Ireland have a greater ability to woo victory than the English.

Do these undoubted parallels mean that England and South Africa or Ireland and Sri Lanka will be tied together at the end of the story...I mean tournament? Or will Australia and India elope in the final act of debauchery? This story is still to be written.

World Cup Predictions: Winners

In the finale of our seven-part World Cup prediction series, Matt goes head-to-head with Subash Jayaraman and Dave Siddall in selecting their World Cup winners.

Part 1: Leading Wicket-taker
Part 2: Leading Runscorer
Part 3: Surprise Packet
Part 4: MVP
Part 5: Dream Team
Part 6: Ace in the hole

Matt Wood

As much as the West Indies have (hopefully) crawled out from a decade and a half of shame and the tournament has Bangladesh playing a lot at home, as much as I’d like to pick a smaller nation making the second round, I just don’t see it. The minnows will leave early, leaving us with the obvious choices again. India and Sri Lanka are justifiable favourites due to their home-ground advantages, while South Africa’s finishing school for cricket talent has no equal. The bet here is the Proteas don’t have the attack to really exploit the conditions – Steyn is quality but supporting cast Tsotsobe, Morkel and Parnell aren’t favoured by the slower decks. Australia can’t be discounted – they’ve been impressive in swatting away England’s One-Day side, a team who seem to lack something that they can’t identify. I’m going to bet on Sri Lanka - India is incredibly reliant on the bowling penetration of Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh. Should one of those two break down or play like a honker, India could really struggle to restrict opposition scoring. Sri Lanka have the spin of Murali and Mendis, the pace of Malinga and the all-round talents of Angelo Mathews.

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Subash Jayaraman

This is the third time the world cup is being held in the Indian subcontinent. The last two times it was held (1987 and 1996), two subcontinent teams made it to the semis (India and Pakistan in 1987) and (India and Sri Lanka in 1996) with Sri Lanka winning it all in 1996. I am inclined to continue with this theme and expect India and Sri Lanka to get to the semi-finals this time as well. The two other semi-finalists, in my opinion, are going to be Australia and South Africa. (But I am very tempted to include either Pakistan or Bangladesh). I do think however, India and Sri Lanka will get to the finals. Sri Lanka does seem to be the most balanced side in the entire tournament and they are playing in home conditions. However, India beat them fair and square in Sri Lanka the last time they played ODIs. But the finals are going to be played in front of Tendulkar’s home crowd in Mumbai. So, I am going to go with my gut, heart and all other internal organs, and hedge my bet on India.

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David Siddall

In my honest opinion there are 5 countries that have both the ability and consistency (sorry Pakistan!) to win the 2011 Cricket World Cup. They are Australia, England, India, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Of the 5, it is the perennially underachievers chokers of South Africa and India that have the finest XIs on paper and also the form to be considered the main contenders. In Sehwag and Ghambir, and Smith and Amla, they have the finest opening batting partnerships in the game with one claiming the title for most explosive and the other for most solid. In Kallis and Tendulkar they have two of the greatest ODI batsmen of all time. A further glance down their respective orders and you have batsmen that combine capabilities to play long innings with intimidating levels and varieties of strokeplay.

So what is there to separate these two sides? The answer lies in the bowling department. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel have formed a devastating partnership capable of tearing through a side. As much as Zaheer Khan stars for India, fans would have to concede that South Africa hold in the edge in terms of the quicks on show. India meanwhile will feel they have the edge in terms of spinners on show. Johan Botha is an accomplished spinner but cannot be considered an attacking option. Unlike Botha, Harbhajan Singh is just that. India are also blessed with numerous spinners in their squad with Ashwin, Pathan, Raina, Yuvraj and Sehwag all providing options in favourable conditions.

The case for both teams is remarkably strong but I favour the side with bigger wicket-taking threat to come out on top. With that in mind, it has to be the biggest chokers of all South Africa to turn the tables on history and win the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

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World Cup Predictions: Most Valuable Player

In part four of our seven part series, Matthew combines with Subash and Dave to select their World Cup MVPs.

Matt Wood

First up, we can eliminate the bowlers. No matter how well the trundlers perform, the awards always go to the batsmen and the criteria for MVP depends on where that guy bats. If you bat in the top four, you have to score a shedload of runs like Ricky Ponting did in 2003. If you bat lower, the biggest criterion is to change the game with the way you hit, a la Lance Klusener’s 1999 tournament. The nearest thing the world has to Klusener is Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, whose chances of winning the award are slimmed somewhat by Pakistan’s inconsistency and lack of their two best bowlers. So the best guess is here for Amla or Sangakkara, two batsmen who’ll get plenty of crease-time and whose elegant, wristy styles are perfectly suited for low, slow subcontinental pitches.

WC MVP: Amla or Sangakkara

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Subash Jayaraman

Who else but Sachin Tendulkar? Or maybe, Shane Watson or Jacque Kallis, the two best all rounders in the game currently? (No, Harbhajan Singh is not an all rounder.)

WC MVP: Sachin Tendulkar

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David Siddall

There are candidates for the most valuable player everywhere you look. There are match-winners a plenty. For South Africa you have Steyn, Smith, Kallis, De Villiers and Amla. For India you have Khan, Tendulkar, Sehwag and Pathan. For England you have KP and Trott. For the West Indies it has to be Chris Gayle. For Australia it is likely to be Watson and Lee. For Sri Lanka you have Sangakarra, Jayawardene and Malinga.

It’s normal for the most valuable player to be selected from the World Cup winning side and seeing as I’m going for the perennial chokers – who yet again have one of the strongest sides on paper – of South Africa, I’m going to go for Hashim Amla who will also be their leading run scorer. He’s been in scintillating form this past year notching up 6 of his 7 one-day centuries. His ability to bat through innings after innings and score at a healthy strike rate could put him in line for the prize. If South Africa do go on to win the World Cup, Amla’s role will be that of as sizeable cog in a well-oiled machine. I don’t think one player can win a World Cup on their own in the way that many claim Maradona won Serie A single handedly for Napoli in the late 1980s.

WC MVP: Hashim Amla

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World Cup Predictions: Leading Wicket Taker

In a seven-part series, our own Matthew Wood goes head to head with Subash Jayaraman of The Cricket Couch and Dave Siddall of World Cricket Watch to send down their predictions for this year's World Cup.

Matt Wood

A quick glance at the stats from the last couple of World Cups reveals that the leading wicket taker has taken on average about 2.5 wickets per innings. In 2007 it was the indomitable Glenn McGrath while in South Africa Chaminda Vaas managed the most scalps. With that in mind, only a few of the bowlers on display this tournament have any chance of approaching those numbers: Malinga, Steyn, Brett Lee (involuntary shudder), Zaheer Khan and Pakistani pair Wahab Riaz and Umar Gul. Others may have the talent, discipline or unpredictability but these are the bowlers who are both in-form and better suited for the conditions available. They’re all pacemen, yes, but I remain unconvinced that any of the spin bowlers on show will be more than defensive stoppers. Lee will almost assuredly break down, so we can eliminate him; Pakistan produce the expected as often as they do adult film stars; leaving Khan, Malinga and the best fast man in the world, Dale Steyn. Steyn’s consistency sees him more likely to take a “Michelle” against a minnow, but Malinga’s slingers can be too much for even the best batsman to face – let’s go with the Sri Lankan.

WC Leading Wicket Taker Prediction: Lasith Malinga

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Subash Jayaraman

There are couple of requirements for players to be featured in the leading wicket taker column. 1) Their respective teams need to make a deep run in the tournament 2) Face as many weak opposition teams as possible in the early round. Chaminda Vaas was the top wicket taker of the world cup in 2003 based on the fact that he took 12 of his 23 wickets against Bangladesh, Kenya and Canada. Of the total 10 matches he played in that tournament, he took more than half his share in just 3 matches against what could be called as weak opposition.

Looking at the 2011 World Cup Schedule, Group A has more number of weaker teams (Kenya, Canada and Zimbabwe) than Group B (Netherlands and Ireland). Bangladesh cannot be called a weak ODI squad anymore. It is not 2003 anymore and they are playing at home, where they have beaten New Zealand 4-0 in a recent series.

Therefore, by my hypothesis, the top wicket taker will emerge from Group A from the teams of Sri Lanka, Australia or Pakistan. Since the team has to make a deep run in the tournament and potentially play in the finals, I am more leaning towards Sri Lanka (Lasith Malinga or Muralitharan) than Australia (Brett Lee or Shaun Tait) or India (Zaheer Khan) or Pakistan (Umar Gul) or South Africa (Dale Steyn). Since Matt and David are already going for the pacers to be highest wicket takers, let me pick Muralitharan. This can be his swan song from all forms of international cricket.

WC Leading Wicket Taker Prediction: Muttiah Muralitharan

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David Siddall

The leading wicket taker in the tournament will come from a team that goes a long way in the competition. Currently if you were asked to name the best quicks in the world [excluding the likes of the Mohammads Amir and Asif] the same names would crop up time after time – Dale Steyn, Zaheer Khan, James Anderson, Morne Morkel, and Lasith Malinga. Of those names Dale Steyn is the best bowler in the world.

We mustn’t forget spin however, as it is likely to be a huge factor in the sub-continent and a determining factor in the outcome of the World Cup. I’m of the opinion that the leading wicket taker won’t be a spinner for two reasons: 1) attacking spinners are thin on the ground with Muttiah Muralitharan, Graeme Swann and Harbajhan Singh seemingly the only exceptions and 2) spinners tend to bowl in those languid middle overs where consolidation and keeping the scoreboard ticking over are the main concerns for the batsmen.

Thinking strategically about the aforementioned quicks and every angle explored leads to one figure being the leading wicket taker in the tournament. Lasith Malinga might not be the best bowler in the world, but unlike Dale Steyn he is head and shoulders above his fellow countrymen’s pacemen. When you also consider that he is the finest exponent of “death” bowling in one day cricket with a wicked yorker and a devilishly disguised slower ball, the justification for the slinger becomes even more apparent. A strike rate of 32.9 isn’t half bad either.

WC Leading Wicket Taker Prediction: Lasith Malinga

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Tough as ... err... Balsa? Australian World Cup side needs variety

While Australia demolishes England in a meaningless seven match post-Ashes One-Day series, unexpected hope rises in a cricketing public. The World Cup is approaching and our boys - missing half the starters - are dismantling guys who embarrassed us in the Tests. Perhaps Australia really are a show to defend their World Cup honours? I mean, surely it could be worse? Absolutely it could - Beau Casson could wear a Baggy Green again. Or Chris Matthews. Or cricket's perpetual punchline Scott Muller.

But the World Cup squad of fifteen (link) doesn't exactly say "locked in", does it?

The team currently decimating the Englishmen comprises the bulk of the World Cup squad. What's concerning is it's attack, which offers about as much variety as a monk's dinner. By relying on One-Day luminaries Lee, Tait, Bollinger and Zoolander Johnson, the team has opted for pace over spin. The supporting all-round roles are filled the the team's hirsuteness bookends, man-beast John Hastings and waxer extraordinaire Shane Watson. Steve Smith also gets a guernsey but his spin bowling is on par with Cameron White's for penetration so is likely to be employed mostly as a low order pinch-hitter.

The incumbent spinner is Nathan Hauritz, the patient girlfriend to which CA selectors always return after stupid flings with the new blondes on the Domestic scene with big knockers: this time, Tasmanian Spin Bimbo Xavier Doherty. Without Hauritz - which due to injury may happen - Australia is likely to field a lineup of spinners as imposing as an mouse's member on the spin-friendly subcontinental pitches.

The pace attack looks threatening, boasting three of the world's fastest bowlers, each of whom is more - sorry - only effective in the shorter formats. Leaving behind versatility, what's most concerning is the fragility of the squad. At least five serious injury risks project as first-choice, as all of Lee, Tait, Bollinger, Hauritz, Ponting and Mike Hussey are either extremely injury-prone or under a cloud going into the tournament. The spearheads, Tait and Lee, despite being walk up starts for all or most of Australia's 115 ODIs since 2007, have a combined seventy appearances, due mostly to injury (Tait 26, Lee 44). While Johnson's physical capability is apparent, "Doug the Rug" has struggled with injury and form for the better part of six months now. Though none resemble Bruce Reid in height, ability or movement in the air, the Curse which struck him down appears to have targeted the Aussie fast men.

This World Cup is in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh which by default means the toughest conditions in which cricket can be played. Lee's history of meltdowns in India and Bollinger's last six months don't inspire confidence in the attack; Tait remains unable to bowl more than sixty deliveries a year without his body crumbling into dust like at the end of an Indiana Jones movie. To preserve their spearheads, the spear-handle is going to have to bowl quite a bit, meaning Watson, Hastings, David Hussey and Michael Clarke can all expect to roll the arm over quite a bit, an each-way bet as to what comes out: flowers or fertilizer.

Apart from Hastings, Australia doesn't really sport too many genuine all-rounders but just batsmen who can bowl if needed. And their ability with the six-stitcher may just determine how successful Australia's World Cup will be.