It can't be said for certain, why Andrew Strauss, the England captain, called Shane Warne a genius, when he got to know that Warney had already predicted the outcome of the India-England match (that it'll be a tie).
One can be very unsure for a couple of reasons:
1) it may be a sarcastic remark by Strauss
2) it may be a careless remark, as he was quite saddened by the fact that England managed to pull a tie, when India seems to have given them the game in platter.
3) it can be a remark to distract the world from the real doings beneath.
Please don't look the third reason with a raised brow, even if you want to.
As -- Can't it be another fixing, involving English and India? With Warne having some role to play in it. He may have been a 'better' who is close to the bookies.
After all -- How is fixing in its basic form explained ?
Isn't it ensuring a particular outcome?
This outcome was known to Warne before hand; how? that is a matter of investigation, and going thru ups and downs; the outcome known before hand is ensured by the two teams.
This not skeptism. This's looking things with an equal eye.
Had the cricketing fraternity taken the news that casually, if it involved Pakistan?
What Pakistani players have been accused of is staging an outcome on the bookie instructions; playing a dot ball here, balling a no ball there! How can it be different from the issue we are discussing now?
No one is defending Pakistan; or blaming England or India. What is being put forth is: doesn't Shane Warne's remark, demand an investigation into the matter?
Warne's prediction, can be a work of a genius; but can't there be a possiility of a fixing?
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finally something happened during 'the asses'... not necessarily on-field... that caught yours truly eye...
calls for shane warne comeback...
some fans have started a campaign to call him back to save ashes...
now the obvious and natural reaction is to dismiss it as stupid over-reaction without caring a glance... but if you scratch beneath this 'stupid move' you might find something concerning...
for once this is fans, the most important yet often overlooked insignificant something, way of telling the board running cricket that they have lost faith in the way they are managing team and to be precise... talent...
of late cricket australia is like a house on fire where every incident or failure on field requires nothing short of maniac moves and reactions... and it is not a surprise that australian team has seen numerous chops and changes that would make even bangladesh proud...
its a statement on the functioning of so called 'world class system'... that forces an injured opener, in katich, to play in first place... thereby admitting they don't have any alternative in their supposedly best domestic structure in the world...
so why not call warne instead then...?
it seems cricket australia are just not sure what they want to do or who their next best men for the job are... so with each failure there must be a scape goat to be found and necessarily sacrificed just to show something is done...
best examples are the dropping of hilfenhaus after just one below par test... when he was the most impressive oz bowler in india...
dropping hauritz after series in india where even the spinner of the caliber of shane warne has found it difficult to either contain or take wickets...
this 'chop and change' at the drop of hat policy has obviously led to so much insecurity in the team that players are not sure whether they will be playing next test or not... how their performances will be evaluated... instead on focusing on the job at hand...
and yet... at the same time they expect the fans to just observe the show like mute spectators sitting on the sidelines...
so rather than dismissing shane warne comeback campaign without caring a glance... cricket australia or for that matter any cricket board must look at why and what prompted fans, their biggest stake holders, to 'stupidly' demand such thing in first place...
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shane warne has proved time and again that how good a leader he is…
he led rajasthan royals to ipl title last year…and if in current tournament they are still considered force to reckon with…its only coz of him…
but to me he fall short of being great leader…coz he has made his team look like robots that follow him blindly…he has made his team totally dependent on him…they can't see beyond his shoulders...so much so that it’s difficult to imagine rajasthan royals without him leading…
this is why they are faltering when batting…specially chasing…since there is nobody to control them in middle...they don’t know how to respond to those crucial moments…
this is why we see the record seventh wicket partnership in ipl…when he was at crease…it can’t be mere coincidence…
you can see him gesturing profoundly…giving instructions to fielders…bowlers…on almost every ball…that now he wants slower ball…now bouncer…etc…though it provides great spectacle…but it also shows that he is all over the place…and more than the team show…it’s becoming a show of one man…so over powering that rather than team getting its due credit…recognition…its warney who runs away with all credit...praise…while it augers well for him…but the same cannot be said about team…
good leaders always give space…the right to fail…they let go sometimes…interfering or offering to guide only when needed…and most importantly always look out to groom somebody to carry on legacy…which am afraid is not happening with rajasthan royals…
one can argue that there is smith as ready made leader available to them whenever warne decides to hand his boots…but i am getting this feeling that somehow smith seems disinterested…he might be feeling inhibited by warne’s leadership…or whatever…but one can sense his uneasiness…which reflects through his performances...his demeanor...
it will be nothing but a cultural shock to them…if and when they will report to a different captain…coz i don’t see him playing more than one season…rajasthan royals better start preparing now if they want smooth transition of leadership from inevitable ‘vacuum’…if they want their team to be strong…competitive…as much as it appears today under the leadership of shane warne…
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हाल में ही ऑस्ट्रेलिया के स्पिन गेंदवाज शेन वॉर्न की "शेन वॉर्न'स सेंचुरी" पुस्तक प्रकाशित हुई है, जिसमें दुनिया भर के लगभग सौ क्रिकेटरों के बारे में अच्छा लिखा और सराहा गया है। परंतु पूर्व भारतीय कप्तान सौरभ गांगुली को निशाने पर रखा है।
उनहें अपने पूरे क्रिकेट करियर में गांगुली न तो विलक्षण कप्तान लगे, न ही उनहें उनकी बल्लेबाजी में दम नज़र आया। उन्होंने गांगुली को पुस्तक में सिर्फ़ एक कमजोर कड़ी के रूप में जगह दी है।
शेन वॉर्न एक महान खिलाड़ी रहे हैं। वे अपनी करिश्माई गेंदवाजी की बदोलत क्रिकेट जगत में अपनी प्रतिभा का लोहा मनवाते रहे हैं। क्रिकेट में पारंगत इस मंझे हुए खिलाड़ी को गांगुली जैसे भारत के सबसे सफल कप्तान और सफल खिलाड़ी पर उंगली उठाने से पहले एक बार अवश्य ही विचार करना चाहिए था कि जो वो लिख रहे हैं क्या वाकई वो वही है?
शेन वॉर्न ने अपनी पुस्तक में गांगुली की आलोचना करने का एक नायाब तरीका इख्तियार किया है। उन्होंने एक तरफ तो कहा है कि गांगुली विलक्षण कप्तान नहीं थे और दूसरी ओर ये भी लिख डाला कि "गांगुली यदि सफल कप्तान रहे भी हैं तो वो सिर्फ़ इस लिए क्योंकि सौभाग्य से उनके पास सचिन, द्रविड़, लक्ष्मण, कुंबले जैसे महान खिलाड़ी थे…"
वाह शेन वाह …वो सभी कप्तान जो सफल हुए हैं क्या अपने बलबूते पर ही सफल हुए हैं?
अब आपके स्टीव वॉ को ही ले लें, यदि वो सफल कप्तान थे तो उनके पास भी तो हेडन, पोंटिंग, मैक ग्रा, शेन वॉर्न, और ब्रेट ली जैसे खिलाड़ी थे। यदि ये सभी खिलाड़ी उस समय नहीं होते तो क्या आस्ट्रलिया शीर्ष पर होता? क्या तब भी स्टीव उतने ही कामयाब होते?
मुझे तो यह भारतीयों के शानदार होते जा रहे प्रदर्शन और उनकी टीम को भारतीयों द्वारा दी जा रही चुनौती से पनपी बोखलाहट में गांगुली के योगदान को बौना दिखाने का असफल प्रयास नजर आता है।
आपका क्या विचार है?
(English readers please...)
now its ganguly's turn...
recently australian spin legend shane warne's book "shane warne's century" was released...in which he has profiled 100 players of every test playing nation and written some good and candid comment about them...but it seems he has written off ganguly completely...
according to him throughout his career he found ganguly neither a good batsman nor a great captain...infact he has given space to ganguly in his book as an afterthought...
shane warne is legend...and has proven his ability through his magical and mesmerising spin bowling...but he should have given it a careful thought before pointing finger on ganguly that whether the criticism is right?
shane warne's argument that even if ganguly was successful bcoz he was lucky to have champion players like sachin, dravid, lakshman, kumble...is 'unique' in itself...
brilliant shane...do you mean to say that all captain who has been successful were/are successful coz of their own efforts only?
now if we take the example of your own captain steve waugh...he was successful captain, as many believe, then even he had great players like hayden, ponting, macgrath, including yourself...if not for the assembly of so many great players in one team then waugh would have been as successful? oz still would have been world champion?
i think india's consistent team performance and our equally consistent challenge to your team has frustrated you to come up with this unsuccessful attempt to dismiss ganguly's contribution as player and most importantly as captain...
what do you think?
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when asked how you feel playing under warne...kamran akmal's prompt reply summed up everthing for me...
'itnaa bada khiladi hai ke achcha perform karney ka mann karta hai...'
(loosely translated - he is such a great player that you really want to perform well for him)
warne showed to world...what we were missing when he could not captain australia...
he won by playing what really can be called 'hard and fair"...
there was no chest thumping...no 'worked up' aggression...no disrespect to opposition...and still he won...and how...
this is the biggest lesson for all these newbies and some seniors too...who think that aggression is showing histrionics on field....swearing at opponent with choicest explicits.....
yes sir, you can still win matches...and we are not talking about 50's cricket here mr punter...
i hope the message is clearly conveyed...to one and all...
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We have finally succeeded in getting confessional statement from Cricket Australia which goes like this...
To all cricket fans around world...
we finally admit that we were stupid, plain dumb and devoid of any thing which can be associated with wisdom when we decided to not offer captaincy to Shane Warne.
For rest of our lives we will never be able to find answer of the fact that whether it was our greatest loss or the cricket fans all over world...
if you think, like this blogger, that this should really be the statement from cricket australia...please sign up here as token of respect to Shane Warne...the captain...
those rares who don't agree yet can visit
uncle's post at cricket with ball and then can comeback and sign here...
i will make it sure that
Uncle of Cricket with Balls (famed for running petitions...) will drop this signage to Cricket Australia's office...
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The list of players realizing their dreams through IPL is getting bigger...and better...
last night Shane Warne was the latest addition to the list...
you may argue that for hardcore professional like warne what could possibly be left there for him to achieve...
then you most probably didn't saw the jubilation after he hit six of second last ball...
most remember him best captain australia never had...
you guessed it right, its the 'captain' shane i am talking about...
though he has captained hampshire earlier...but captaining in IPL carnival...besides so many international stars...its different ball game altogether...
...with humble but gritty team at his disposal...he is making them look like winners when nobody gave them a hoot...
any other team would have melted against the storm of roy innings (like royally challenged did against brendon's) but he had other ideas...
starting from the introduction of pathan to halt the gilly storm...to hitting the six off second last ball...it was the high voltage stuff...
last night he had a match many captain only dreams off...but rarely comes true...
...and the best part is....its only the start...
way to go shane!!
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