what i learnt from pakistan's tour of england...

that, technically speaking, players can be suspended for bowling no-balls...

that henceforth any team that score slowly in two overs when they should be looking to 'up the ante' shall invite immediate investigation by icc...

that an unknown journalist's word carries more weight in icc's eye than the president of an associate board...

finally... icc is willing to run cricket at the whim and fancy of tabloids...

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why forcing pcb to act is just a 'righteous' move...

there have been calls that cricket fraternity should force pcb to act so that the corrupt players are not let off with mild punishment making the mockery of cricket war against match or spot fixing given the past record of pcb...

well... i don't have issues with other boards forcing pcb to act decisively... but what would penalising three tainted players will achieve...? will cricket become immune to the fixing just by getting rid of three tainted players...?

what about all boards collectively forcing icc to make acsu not only capable enough to act proactively but accountable to such glaring lapses when they were literally caught with their pants down by NOTW...?

a classic example of how acsu function... first they cleared the kamaran's sydneygate test of any suspicion of match fixing but now they are reinvestigating the same test after the NOTW exposé... means either their inquiry into sydney test earlier was shoddy and hurried... or they just want to be seen on working sincerely gauging the prevalent sentiment now...

till we have these customary watch dogs that exists just for the sake of it... that take millions to sleep at work... i am sure we are not far behind from exposing another tainted players of match fixing coz if only stringent actions against the culprits would decidedly serve as the deterrent... we would never see a murder in life...

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can 'informant' amir really escape life ban...?

if this report is to be believed... mohammad amir could become icc informant and reveal "dodgy betting identities that corrupted him" to escape life ban from the spot fixining charges...

but in doing so... can amir escape the life ban in real...?

let me explain...

in life one can become informant of authorities to escape harsh punishment coz he has the option to start life afresh elsewhere... but can cricketer who will have to return to the same system... same colleagues to earn living by playing for them do that...?

although in open... pcb and his colleagues will pat his back for exposing the malice in cricket... but will they trust him the same way in closet...?

will the very system, pcb in this case, that didn't act earlier coz its own hands were muddled in corruption, continue to pick him like they would normally after amir exposing "dodgy betting identities that corrupted him"...?

incidentally... the first casualty of spot fixing saga is not from the tainted trio but it is yasir hameed, who on camera bragged about all his colleagues being involved in match fixing, and one can be pretty assured he won't share the same dressing room again...

hameed is the one who will be serving the unofficial life ban... without even charged for spot fixing...

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newTON's laws of cricket...

first law... (specific)
cricket remains in a state of uniform motion until unless there is a lahore or act of fixing involved...

first law...(universal)
cricket remains in a state of immunity until unless there is case of IPL or BCCI involved...

second law...
action taken by ICC is directly proportional to the pressure exerted by BCCI...

third law...
for every gideon haigh there is an equal and opposite harsha bhogle...

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elbowgate: icc accepts they are partial...

sorry for uploading the same image twice within few posts... but i thought it was necessary to make the point...

since i have been following cricket... i have never seen icc recognising the instigator or provocateur... they have always punished the offender irrespectively... the cricket history is flooded with such instances and there is not need to mention them separately... collectively...

now under this light if we see both incidents (coz they are the most recent elbow incidents) gambhir was banned for the same offense but ponting got scot free even after it is established beyond doubt that both gambhir and ponting 'deliberately elbowed' their opponents...

once it is established that both deliberately made 'contact' then even as per the icc and the judgement they have been handing out in the name of 'spirit of cricket' or 'justice' the preceeding circumstances that led them to 'deliberately elbow' their opponent becomes irrelevant...

now see what chris broad said during his 'unofficial' public reprimand of aamer...

"It has happened twice now so we as a playing control team thought it would be sensible for me to have a word with him. He accepted it graciously and undertook to avoid a repeat occurrence. As far as we are concerned the issue is now closed."

so ponting has the right to deliberately stretch his elbow with the intention of making contact... coz amir has done it twice...?!

don't you think that this is bit rich of broad to almost justify what ponting did...? and who would explain why and under what justification ponting was let off without even a word uttered to his empty vessel so that it would have resonated loud and clear to all and sundry...?

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john howard: an exposé...

fellow bloggers kartikeya of 'a cricketing view'... soulberry of 'the cricket watcher's journal' and achettup of 'short of a length' have covered, dissected and exposed the hypocrisy of howardgate and how it is managed and reported in media that there is nothing much left to add...

as usual... largely bcci 'the mother of all cricketing ills' is the focal point of all the venom that has been spit in press and media in the name of journalism... you do not have to be a rocket scientist to see the concentrated 'efforts' they are putting up one after another is coz of hurt that has caused their ego to take over senses...

now my question is... if one is stooping to the level of calling president of one of the associate board 'a buffoon' and another calls journalist 'a tabloid tv jock' and tries to stuff words in his mouth to please his argument... resorting to name names unapologetically... arguing like either you are on my side or you are wrong... using media to vent venom instead of airing well rounded views... thereby abusing the power of media because they can... then with what face and credibility they are asking icc or more accurately bcci to behave...?

so to me this howardgate has exposed many 'experts' and their so called 'insight' to me... since they are in no mood to listen as slithering ego and anger has blocked all voices of reasoning... i must thank icc and bcci for the exposé...

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why only shahid afridi...?

sorry for being late on the issue...

those who are wondering that even after playing so many years at international level... knowing that eyes of 26 cameras are following and dissecting your every move on cricket field... still shahid afridi had the audacity to do what he did... ?

they are missing this simple point... idiocy knows no reasoning...

but one more thing which seems to have escaped many minds and certainly icc's recruited match referee... why only shahid afridi was punished for ball tampering...?

as far as the video of the incident goes... it's clearly visible that first asif and later rana knew exactly what was going on and still there was nothing to suggest that they even tried to stop afridi from doing what he did... in fact rana was even seen smiling wickedly when he saw afridi biting the ball... which means both asif and rana were willing and consenting party to the crime... and they deserved to be punished like afridi... if not equally...

to me... icc missed the opportunity to not only stamp its authority but sending clear message in no uncertain terms that there will be zero tolerance towards such offenses and they will come down heavily not only on the player who is directly involved but even on those who are willingly party...

update: 4th feb, 2010...

i have found out that there has been a precedent of team mates getting punished for ball tampering... in year 2000 waqar younis when he became the first player to be suspended for ball tampering... his team mates also got punished...

Television replays clearly caught the Pakistani fast bowler playing with the ball. While the commentators dismissed the incident when it happened, Match Referee John Reid took it very seriously and, after a long meeting, he passed out the sentence. Also fined 30 per cent of his fees was Azhar Mahmmod, who abetted the act. Pakistani skipper Moin Khan was "severely reprimanded" for allowing it to happen.

so what i was suggesting has a precedent and wonder why this could not have been implemented in this case...

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why ponting is the right choice for the 'player of the decade'...

the player of the decade title is for the one who really left the indisputable impressions on the game apart from merely contributing towards the team win as a batsman, bowler or as an allrounder... and for this simple fact only ponting deserved to be the player of the decade...

ricky ponting was one of the best batsman of the decade was never in doubt but his real worth as player and his contributions towards the game came to the fore when he was made captain of the australia team...

earlier captain's task used to be perceived as the player who leads the team by his exemplary behavior not only in the field but off field as well... the one who tries to win the game for his team by playing 'hard but fair' without disrespecting opponent... but ponting changed all that for once and all...

now apart from leading the team... captain must have a corporate meeting almost after every ball with his bowlers specially when the things are not going their way... should call each fielder to ask his well being before the next ball could be bowled... have an impromptu discussions with umpires about the state of affairs... convert the art of sledging into the art of abusing without ever being caught... barge at the batsman along with his bowler after getting him dismissed at the top of his voice and impressions... keep the match referee and third umpire busy by claiming bump catches... in fact sometimes even become an umpire and declare batsman out... to help out the system...

no wonder ponting has the most appearances before the match referees than all other captains put together past decade... but make no mistake... all that was done in the spirit of the game for we would have never known the intricacies of how system works...

had ponting not taken the lead and responsibility on himself to highlight the obvious flaws of the system or how to work around it... the game would have been poorer and dull... for he invited more debates and arguments than any other player in the history of game... the game became more interesting even off field...

although there were voices in his home country about ponting being the worst behaved australian player and captain not so long ago... but it was the icc and cricinfo experts who knew the real worth of him and acknowledged his selfless contributions and impact on the game the way no other player could manage to do so consistently throughout the decade...

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player of decadent...

but even all his contributions paled in comparison of what he did in india which eventually decisively tilted the tide in his favor... the unprecedented sacrifice he made to uphold the spirit of the game and its laws...

it takes special heart to sacrifice a test win (and probably the series) specially against the bitterest rivals... india... to maintain the over rates and putting the spirit of the game and its laws above a mere test win... and just for this sacrifice only... he deserved to be awarded the player of the decade...

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kotla fiasco: who will stand for us...?

while surfing i came across this interesting comment made by mathew gullick on kotla fiasco at line and length blog... excerpt from the comment goes like this...

I, too, have not seen any of the coverage from this game, but presumably even with an "unfit" track it would have been possible for both sides to have agreed to send down 50 overs of spin bowling in order to give the spectators a match.

now this is very interesting thought...

even if kotla pitch was unfit for play... the match (even if rescheduled one) could have taken place and innocent fans, who were sucked into buying tickets on the promise of watching their favorite players play a good game of cricket, could have been saved from the disappointment and frustration...

we have seen all pace attack in a game of cricket... then why not all spin attack... what is so outrageous about it that it can never be thought upon as an option...?

we have seen a captain proactively trying to squeeze in some overs from day's play by bowling spinners when danger of bad light looms... then why not the same urge to save a game for spectators...?

ddca did what they did... and going by their ability to dig new lows they will all be laughing silently as this gives them an opportunity to stuff more money in their coffers under the new head 'on account of damages by riotous crowd'... talk about seeing opportunity in adversity...

icc got the opportunity to score some brownie points on bcci to set some records straight... so even after the match went on for 24 overs the pitch was rated as 'unfit' instead of 'poor'...

media got the opportunity to blow it as they wish to... with an opportunity of a pregnant sequel...  for if the ban is say about two years... they will report it as... is bcci loosing its powers...?

or if the punishment is light by their 'standards' they will report it as how the bcci used its growing muscles to set the matter in their favors... talk about win-win situation...

but what about the common man who pays for a ticket from his pocket to see the match on ground... and gets punished for the 'crime'... nobody spares a thought for a fan who has made the game what it is today...

why it is so difficult to think about a paying fan... ?

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icc agrees with straight points too...

in my previous post on how splitting the odis innings can work...

i proposed the idea of continuation of innings after the break of 25 overs for both teams instead of playing two new 25 overs innings... looking like two back to back t20sh games being played in middle...

well... icc is also thinking in similar lines... this is what dave richardson said...

"I don't necessarily like the idea of playing two matches of 25 overs each with the openers batting again," he said. "The charm of one-day cricket is seeing someone batting at four and scoring a good hundred. If you bat in the middle order of a Twenty20 or a new 25-over innings, you're not to get much of an opportunity to hit three figures, one downside of the Twenty20 game."

exactly the point... can't wait for the trials to begin in south africa...

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its getting 'gambhir'...

i don't wanna defend gambhir here...he deserves every bit of punishment he has got...

but the point i want to initiate debate on is...that...of late it has become like a ritual to settle whatever grudge they have with 'the bully' bcci this way...

gambhir is just a what we say a 'mohra'...in this game...

and i am least surprised with the swiftness of appeal decision taken by ICC...though there are still more important and urgent issues lingering since ages...which needs no further elaboration...

the satisfaction of scoring some brownie points is greater than settling those issues...and i don't wanna deprive them the joy of this 'moral victory'...

never mind that...

the crying pussy watson after referee himself admitted was the one who provoked gets away with...if we can call it a fine...

never mind that...

johnson after abusing non other than VVS (the rare breed of gentleman left in this 'gentleman' game) without any provocation was not even reprimanded...gets away with it...

mind you i said abusing not sledging...there by sending message its ok to be abusive...

...and

punter after clearly showing dissent with umpire decision (and its not one off incident as far as punter record goes) gets into argument with batsman and holds the play 'against the spirit of game'...but we are yet to hear a word from what they call referees...

...and these are just the examples from this series only...

the call is yours...

PS
did i said...gambhir is the highest scorer of this series and is the consistent pain in the @ss of ozies...? oh...never mind that... ;-)

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We are the POWER!!

to hell with modesty...

if last night was not the eye opener to the rest of world...then i am afraid what will be...

the future is here...

and we are the future...we are the power...

not ICC...

and certainly not BCCI...as many believe...

its WE, the fans, i am talking about...

WE will decide IPL future...WE will decide the millions of dollars that are invested in it are worth it...

WE will make people like Mukesh Ambani...Vijay Mallaya...SRK...BCCI & Co...look like stupid...or genius who saw the future of cricket...

so guys get ready to be spoiled...most sought after but difficult to please breed...

...coz with the start of IPL...WE HAVE GOT THE POWER...WE will decide the fate of stars...so demand nothing but the best...and make it sure they provide just that...don't get easily satisfied...

as i said to hell with modesty...

and OUR first wish is...DO NOT SHORTEN THE BOUNDARY...

let the boundary of a ground remain as it is...

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Umpires Thrash India !!

or what you would call it???

i am sulking big time...

if playing with aussies is the toughest task...what would you say when umpires lands their support and then third umpire too joins the party???

if they were embarrassed by giving ponting out (he was out before too but does that matter) they made india pay big time for their own laxities and how...

the buckner is becoming 'the burner' specially with india...he has gone past his use by date too long ago and i still don't know when ICC will SEE it...

these type of decisions are becoming quite a regulatory...players are punished for showing even semblance of dissents but when on earth we will make umpires as accountable as players is remained to be seen...i hope i see it in my lifetime...

here was a team who after the thrashing in first test was clawing his way back into this test with aussies on mat at 130 odd for six wickets and we were in for some good contest...thats when umpires decided to have their impact on this game...its not as if india did all things right (later about that)...but when on earth we will see a fair contest between BAT and BALL which is what cricket is all about???

i am still sulking...

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That one finger...

i got up early in the morning (in india) anticipating good fight back from SL, considering both sangakara and jayasurya were batting with positive intent and one of rare counter attack on oz bowling under so much of pressure...i was not disappointed either...

What an innings Sangakara was playing...arguably one of the best on oz soil till one dick head decided otherwise...to keep up his practice of raising finger...

i dont know how many great innings will be killed by these umpiring blunders...disgusting utterly disgusting....and homer too is rightly annoyed in his latest post when he points to utter hypocrisy of punter...

this is not single, rare or aloof incident...its happening quite regularly of late with countless examples (i just don't wanna go to pick data thinking we all see same game) and even more regularly down under (this is my personal opinion, although i know i am not alone) where best batsmen of opposition teams have had history of rough (in)decisions...

some where in a blog (i am so pissed off that i cant remember where) there was discussion going on that since the advent of neutral umpiring the home teams are getting more advantages...again no data to prove but we are getting close and close by each test/series...

one thing ICC have to get screwed in their mind is that people all over world watch game on tv or come to ground not to watch 'brilliant umpiring' but the contest between bat and ball and when you see a great innings gets killed this way you wonder why...why we can spend endless time in replays to judge whether fielder was touching rope or not...but then why on earth there can not be a reversal procedure to get over this shit...

what you think is the best way...

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