For it to happen once can be written off as statistically insignificant, but when the same thing happens a short time afterwards, we start to take notice and perhaps identify the birth of a trend. And we think we've seen one, namely this: The penultimate over of a t20 match is the key one.
Obviously, we'll be doing an in-depth statistical analysis of all t20 cricket at some point in the future (cough), but for now simply pointing it will do. It started with Albie Morkel's astonishing assault on the awkward bowling of Virat Kohli in game 13, taking him for 28 runs with Bangalore needing 43 off the last two overs. Though still with work to do in the last over, those six balls broke the back of the challenge allowing Dwayne Bravo and Ravi Jadeja to guide Chennai home.
The same thing happened today in game 33. With Mumbai needing 32 from two overs, Robin Peterson and Ambati Rayudu combined to take Piyush Chawla's figures from three overs for 19 runs to four overs for 46. Even as wily a bowler as Azhar Mahmood wasn't going to defend five from the final over and Mumbai grabbed a win from nowhere.
So what's the lesson here? Bangalore's mistake was allowing an agricultural slogger to tee off against the long-hops and full tosses of a part-time bowler with an action that could curdle milk. Peterson and Rayudu were facing a proper leggy, albeit one that has proved hittable in the past. Both episodes were very much a case of shit or bust for the batting side - they had to go for it and couldn't leave it any later. They swung, they won.
Time was that six runs off an over seemed a mountain of Himalayan proportions. The rapid expansion of the one-day game quickly meant that became the nonsense that we recognise today, but where scores in excess of 40 off two overs are becoming normal, that's a whole new ball game. We'll need to see such 19th-over pyrotechnics more often if we're going to form this into a new trend or even a tactic, but if any t20 captains out there want our advice it's this: Work on your death bowling options.
Showing posts with label IPL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IPL. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Tough love
It's not been a bad IPL so far. There have been some outstanding individual and collective performances, but this year's edition requires patience and optimism to keep punters interested.
Let's get one thing straight - we like t20. We accept it for what it is and embrace that. Indeed, it's the way some of us got into playing cricket in the evening village leagues around and about, getting our little off-breaks heaved into the field next door by a burly farmer with a deep-seated hatred of young lads who thought they could bowl a bit. But despite that, we still have a fondness for the shortest form of the game here a Morkels Acres. What we most certainly are not is jealous and neither is what follows (whatever thay may be - it's not been written yet) is not written with green eyes.
There have been some really quite spectacular games in this IPL already. Bangalore needing 21 off the last over against Pune and not just getting there, but doing it with some comfort was one, Chennai's Albie Morkel-inspired chase of 206 against Bangalore was another. Both were outstanding games of t20 cricket, epitomising everything that this format should be about. Rajasthan got home against Deccan despite needing 55 runs from the last four overs in another excellent game, but these three matches - of 22 completed at time of writing - stand out for their rarity value.
For every one game where 190-odd plays 200, there have been six near-walkovers. Indeed, the Chennai v Bangalore game referred to earlier was followed immediately by Pune getting bundled out for 115 by Kings XI who then knocked off the required runs at a canter, eventually staggering over the line in the 18th over. Even without the pyrotechnics of the game that immediately preceded it, this was an absolute turd of a match. Kolkata have beaten Kings XI with almost a quarter of their overs not required, Delhi have skittled Mumbai and knocked off the requirement with even more balls than that remaining. What particularly frustrates with these games is the always-irritating strategic time-out. Yes we know they're extended ad breaks, but what strategy do you discuss when you need eight runs to win, have four overs to get them in and have seven wickets in hand? "What do you reckon Jacques?". "I reckon I'm going to clobber the next two balls to the fence Gautam". "Good plan big feller".
There have been some pitiful chases as well such as Rajasthan coming up short by 59 runs against Bangalore and Deccan failing by just the 74 against Chennai. Another nadir was Kolkata failing to beat Kings XI in their first meeting despite chasing a derisory 135 and being 73/2 at one stage. Not one facet of that game was anything like top class.
Rubbish captaincy, bizarre bowling changes and truly horrible batting has blighted the tournament this year so far, but we keep watching, hoping the next 200+ chase is just around the corner. AB de Villiers's improvisation, the sheer power of Chris Gayle and all the snarling aggression of Dale Steyn keep us interested and good job that they do, because sometimes the IPL makes itself very hard to love.
Let's get one thing straight - we like t20. We accept it for what it is and embrace that. Indeed, it's the way some of us got into playing cricket in the evening village leagues around and about, getting our little off-breaks heaved into the field next door by a burly farmer with a deep-seated hatred of young lads who thought they could bowl a bit. But despite that, we still have a fondness for the shortest form of the game here a Morkels Acres. What we most certainly are not is jealous and neither is what follows (whatever thay may be - it's not been written yet) is not written with green eyes.
There have been some really quite spectacular games in this IPL already. Bangalore needing 21 off the last over against Pune and not just getting there, but doing it with some comfort was one, Chennai's Albie Morkel-inspired chase of 206 against Bangalore was another. Both were outstanding games of t20 cricket, epitomising everything that this format should be about. Rajasthan got home against Deccan despite needing 55 runs from the last four overs in another excellent game, but these three matches - of 22 completed at time of writing - stand out for their rarity value.
For every one game where 190-odd plays 200, there have been six near-walkovers. Indeed, the Chennai v Bangalore game referred to earlier was followed immediately by Pune getting bundled out for 115 by Kings XI who then knocked off the required runs at a canter, eventually staggering over the line in the 18th over. Even without the pyrotechnics of the game that immediately preceded it, this was an absolute turd of a match. Kolkata have beaten Kings XI with almost a quarter of their overs not required, Delhi have skittled Mumbai and knocked off the requirement with even more balls than that remaining. What particularly frustrates with these games is the always-irritating strategic time-out. Yes we know they're extended ad breaks, but what strategy do you discuss when you need eight runs to win, have four overs to get them in and have seven wickets in hand? "What do you reckon Jacques?". "I reckon I'm going to clobber the next two balls to the fence Gautam". "Good plan big feller".
There have been some pitiful chases as well such as Rajasthan coming up short by 59 runs against Bangalore and Deccan failing by just the 74 against Chennai. Another nadir was Kolkata failing to beat Kings XI in their first meeting despite chasing a derisory 135 and being 73/2 at one stage. Not one facet of that game was anything like top class.
Rubbish captaincy, bizarre bowling changes and truly horrible batting has blighted the tournament this year so far, but we keep watching, hoping the next 200+ chase is just around the corner. AB de Villiers's improvisation, the sheer power of Chris Gayle and all the snarling aggression of Dale Steyn keep us interested and good job that they do, because sometimes the IPL makes itself very hard to love.
Monday, 23 May 2011
IPL 2011: A very mixed bag
As the interminable group stage of this year’s IPL has finally drawn to a close, now seems an appropriate time to reflect on 75 (yes – 75 – far too bloody many) matches that, more than ever, seem to fall in either of two categories – ferociously exciting (about 1/3) or pretty soporific (the rest).
This year saw two new teams added to the mix – Kochi and Pune. Pune were bloody awful, and that’s all that needs to be said; Yuvraj Singh is not a leader of men. Kochi were inconsistent but showed enough to justify their place in the competition and some of their signings (RP Singh, Parthiv Patel) really paid off.
The early running was made by Mumbai, who lost only once in their first six matches. Sachin Tendulkar led the way with the Orange cap and Lasith Malinga took an astonishing 5/13 in their opening match against Delhi, setting him on the way to the Purple Cap (most wickets), a lead he has not relinquished for the entire tournament. He is currently on 27 wickets – his nearest challenger, Amit Mishra of the eliminated Deccan Chargers, has 19. After that good start, however, last year’s beaten finalists fell away, losing three of their last four. Significantly, however, their thrilling last ball win over Chennai on Sunday means they carry momentum into the first play-off, where they face the same opponents.
Chennai were the most consistent side of the group stage, losing twice in the second half of the season and powered by a strong unit of players – the wiley off-breaks of R Ashwin; Michael Hussey (brilliant signing) at the top of the order; Miserly Doug ‘The Rug’ Bollinger and explosive MS Dhoni. Collectively they have shown last year’s Championship victory was no fluke and their place in the top 4 is merited.
Bangalore looked all at sea for the first three weeks of competition, collecting only one win from their first five. Then Chris Gayle turned up and all hell broke loose – Straight off the plane at Eden Gardens, he slammed 102 from 55 balls and followed it up a week later with 107 from 49 balls against Kings XI. He is now the tournament’s leading run scorer despite playing 5 matches less than everyone else – he has been extraordinary and it is tough not to put RCB’s top spot finish down to his introduction alone.
The big let-down of 2011 were Delhi Daredevils, who staked the house on skipper Virender Sehwag clubbing them into the play-offs. Once he injured his shoulder at the halfway stage, they lacked direction and the overseas recruits of David Warner, Morne Morkel and Colin Ingram sparkled rarely. Irfan Pathan, an obscenely pricey $1.9m purchase at the pre-season auction, did little to justify the hefty pricetag and neither did Umesh Yadav. Deccan Chargers’ race for a play-off spot was put to bed after a 4-match losing streak in the third quarter of the tournament; Shane Warne bowed out with Rajasthan Royals, hampered as they were by financial restraints, lacking consistency although they did beat Mumbai. Kings XI, for whom the hitherto-unknown all-rounder Paul Valthathy made plenty of headlines scoring two hundreds, won four of their last five but still came up short. Jacques Kallis and Gautham Gambhir were the lynchpins of an ultimately satisfactory campaign for Kolkata that sees them take on Mumbai in the first play-off round.
IPL 2011 was too long and unwieldy, with too many uncompetitive matches. With restrictions on the amount of overseas stars allowed to play, and two new teams brought in, the level of competent native players is exposed and they are spread too thinly between the teams – On this evidence, they should go back to a 10-team competition. As with previous IPL tournaments, the fielding has also often been shoddy. And it needs to be shorter – much, much shorter!
Prediction: Bangalore to choke in the group stage, Chennai to face Mumbai in a repeat of last year’s final – but this time the ‘Indians’ will come out on top.
Heroes: Chris Gayle, Paul Valthathy, Lasith Malinga, Shaun Marsh, Adam Gilchrist
Villains: Dan Christian, Sreesanth, Ryan Harris, Lasith Malinga (retire from test cricket? You mug)
This year saw two new teams added to the mix – Kochi and Pune. Pune were bloody awful, and that’s all that needs to be said; Yuvraj Singh is not a leader of men. Kochi were inconsistent but showed enough to justify their place in the competition and some of their signings (RP Singh, Parthiv Patel) really paid off.
The early running was made by Mumbai, who lost only once in their first six matches. Sachin Tendulkar led the way with the Orange cap and Lasith Malinga took an astonishing 5/13 in their opening match against Delhi, setting him on the way to the Purple Cap (most wickets), a lead he has not relinquished for the entire tournament. He is currently on 27 wickets – his nearest challenger, Amit Mishra of the eliminated Deccan Chargers, has 19. After that good start, however, last year’s beaten finalists fell away, losing three of their last four. Significantly, however, their thrilling last ball win over Chennai on Sunday means they carry momentum into the first play-off, where they face the same opponents.
Chennai were the most consistent side of the group stage, losing twice in the second half of the season and powered by a strong unit of players – the wiley off-breaks of R Ashwin; Michael Hussey (brilliant signing) at the top of the order; Miserly Doug ‘The Rug’ Bollinger and explosive MS Dhoni. Collectively they have shown last year’s Championship victory was no fluke and their place in the top 4 is merited.
Bangalore looked all at sea for the first three weeks of competition, collecting only one win from their first five. Then Chris Gayle turned up and all hell broke loose – Straight off the plane at Eden Gardens, he slammed 102 from 55 balls and followed it up a week later with 107 from 49 balls against Kings XI. He is now the tournament’s leading run scorer despite playing 5 matches less than everyone else – he has been extraordinary and it is tough not to put RCB’s top spot finish down to his introduction alone.
The big let-down of 2011 were Delhi Daredevils, who staked the house on skipper Virender Sehwag clubbing them into the play-offs. Once he injured his shoulder at the halfway stage, they lacked direction and the overseas recruits of David Warner, Morne Morkel and Colin Ingram sparkled rarely. Irfan Pathan, an obscenely pricey $1.9m purchase at the pre-season auction, did little to justify the hefty pricetag and neither did Umesh Yadav. Deccan Chargers’ race for a play-off spot was put to bed after a 4-match losing streak in the third quarter of the tournament; Shane Warne bowed out with Rajasthan Royals, hampered as they were by financial restraints, lacking consistency although they did beat Mumbai. Kings XI, for whom the hitherto-unknown all-rounder Paul Valthathy made plenty of headlines scoring two hundreds, won four of their last five but still came up short. Jacques Kallis and Gautham Gambhir were the lynchpins of an ultimately satisfactory campaign for Kolkata that sees them take on Mumbai in the first play-off round.
IPL 2011 was too long and unwieldy, with too many uncompetitive matches. With restrictions on the amount of overseas stars allowed to play, and two new teams brought in, the level of competent native players is exposed and they are spread too thinly between the teams – On this evidence, they should go back to a 10-team competition. As with previous IPL tournaments, the fielding has also often been shoddy. And it needs to be shorter – much, much shorter!
Prediction: Bangalore to choke in the group stage, Chennai to face Mumbai in a repeat of last year’s final – but this time the ‘Indians’ will come out on top.
Heroes: Chris Gayle, Paul Valthathy, Lasith Malinga, Shaun Marsh, Adam Gilchrist
Villains: Dan Christian, Sreesanth, Ryan Harris, Lasith Malinga (retire from test cricket? You mug)
Sunday, 3 April 2011
World Cup 14 best
Finally we're done and can relax for a bit. But before the IPL starts and the County Championship get underway, here we pick our top 14 World Cup snippets in honour of the last time such a number will appear in the tournament, at least until the ICC pull their collective head out of their collective arse.
14. Best associate
Despite the miserable performances of Canada and Kenya, the other smaller nations were pretty entertaining, especially the Irish who take the nod here for being at worst competitive in every game they played. To get rid smacks of short-termism and a lack of awareness of the game outside it's established centres. To bar the likes of Afghanistan from the tournament is to it's long-term discredit.
13. Shot of the tournament
Step forward 19-year old Hiral Patel.
12. Most sustained assault on a decent bowler
Aided by some miserable leg-stump full tosses, admittedly, but Ross Taylor going absolutely batshit insane against Pakistan was truly astonishing. Also, it only came after our...
11. Best birthday gift
When he was put down twice before he'd made 10 in that innings.
10. Most ridiculous use of the UDRS
This was out. So was this.
9. Best batsman
Virender Sehwag was, as usual, the most exciting, Sachin Tendulkar his usual imperious self, AB de Villiers all dreamy shots around the ground and Jonathan Trott a reliable grinder. And while Tilakaratne Dilshan topped the list with 500 runs, his team-mate and captain Kumar Sangakkara's chanceless 465 at an average of 93 was pure class and he's the one we'd get out of bed at stupid o'clock to watch.
8. Best bowler
Ahead of the semi-final, this writer was heard to comment to a friend of Indian extraction that he fancied Pakistan as they had the better bowlers - Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi. In the end, Zaheer Khan outdid them both and shone in the final to nick the award. Kemar Roach deserves mention too - proper old-fashioned West Indian quick. We hope there are more like him back in the Caribbean.
7. Player of the tournament
Plenty of nominees. Sachin was brilliant, Sehwag explosive, de Villiers all class, Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi and Zaheer Khan all unplayable, Tilakaratne Dilshan and Yuvraj Singh stellar with bat and ball, but we go for Peter Borren because if we don't, he will probably kill us.
6. Most ridiculous scapegoat
Jonathan Trott must have upset Bob Willis in other ways than being an extremely reliable run-scorer to have two 50-plus scores labelled "match-losing innings" by the former England fast bowler turned professional curmudgeon.
5. Best game
It had to be one featuring excitement merchants England. The heart-stopping tie with India swung one way and back the other about five different time during 100 overs. Best game of 50-over cricket? Quite probably, yes.
4. Biggest England implosion
A category with plenty of contenders - the loss to Ireland, to Bangladesh, the stumble against the Dutch - but the clear winner was the sight of eleven hollow shells of men who had been on the road for over six months have their pants pulled down by Sri Lanka. Which leads nicely on to...
3. Most career-defining knock
In the space of 50 balls, Kevin O'Brien made himself a potentially quite rich man, wrote his legend into the history books and helped his country defeat their former colonial overlords with an amazing display of controlled brutality.
2. Best wind-up merchant
Kyle Mills, twelfth man for New Zealand, who came onto the field with the sole intention of letting Faf du Plessis know what he thought of the AB de Villiers run out. And that's a lovely segué to....
1. Biggest choke
Sorry South Africa, but it really was a choke of epic proportions.
And we're done. We can't believe it'll be a whole six days when we get to watch another cricket match - the IPL starts on Friday. The schedulers really need to make sure these enormous hiatuses don't happen like this in the future. Here's hoping the ICC see sense before the next tournament in Australia and New Zealand in four years time and don't exclude the associates and we can enjoy another extravaganza because, for all it's faults, this has been a pretty damn fine tournament.
14. Best associate
Despite the miserable performances of Canada and Kenya, the other smaller nations were pretty entertaining, especially the Irish who take the nod here for being at worst competitive in every game they played. To get rid smacks of short-termism and a lack of awareness of the game outside it's established centres. To bar the likes of Afghanistan from the tournament is to it's long-term discredit.
13. Shot of the tournament
Step forward 19-year old Hiral Patel.
12. Most sustained assault on a decent bowler
Aided by some miserable leg-stump full tosses, admittedly, but Ross Taylor going absolutely batshit insane against Pakistan was truly astonishing. Also, it only came after our...
11. Best birthday gift
When he was put down twice before he'd made 10 in that innings.
10. Most ridiculous use of the UDRS
This was out. So was this.
9. Best batsman
Virender Sehwag was, as usual, the most exciting, Sachin Tendulkar his usual imperious self, AB de Villiers all dreamy shots around the ground and Jonathan Trott a reliable grinder. And while Tilakaratne Dilshan topped the list with 500 runs, his team-mate and captain Kumar Sangakkara's chanceless 465 at an average of 93 was pure class and he's the one we'd get out of bed at stupid o'clock to watch.
8. Best bowler
Ahead of the semi-final, this writer was heard to comment to a friend of Indian extraction that he fancied Pakistan as they had the better bowlers - Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi. In the end, Zaheer Khan outdid them both and shone in the final to nick the award. Kemar Roach deserves mention too - proper old-fashioned West Indian quick. We hope there are more like him back in the Caribbean.
7. Player of the tournament
Plenty of nominees. Sachin was brilliant, Sehwag explosive, de Villiers all class, Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi and Zaheer Khan all unplayable, Tilakaratne Dilshan and Yuvraj Singh stellar with bat and ball, but we go for Peter Borren because if we don't, he will probably kill us.
6. Most ridiculous scapegoat
Jonathan Trott must have upset Bob Willis in other ways than being an extremely reliable run-scorer to have two 50-plus scores labelled "match-losing innings" by the former England fast bowler turned professional curmudgeon.
5. Best game
It had to be one featuring excitement merchants England. The heart-stopping tie with India swung one way and back the other about five different time during 100 overs. Best game of 50-over cricket? Quite probably, yes.
4. Biggest England implosion
A category with plenty of contenders - the loss to Ireland, to Bangladesh, the stumble against the Dutch - but the clear winner was the sight of eleven hollow shells of men who had been on the road for over six months have their pants pulled down by Sri Lanka. Which leads nicely on to...
3. Most career-defining knock
In the space of 50 balls, Kevin O'Brien made himself a potentially quite rich man, wrote his legend into the history books and helped his country defeat their former colonial overlords with an amazing display of controlled brutality.
2. Best wind-up merchant
Kyle Mills, twelfth man for New Zealand, who came onto the field with the sole intention of letting Faf du Plessis know what he thought of the AB de Villiers run out. And that's a lovely segué to....
1. Biggest choke
Sorry South Africa, but it really was a choke of epic proportions.
And we're done. We can't believe it'll be a whole six days when we get to watch another cricket match - the IPL starts on Friday. The schedulers really need to make sure these enormous hiatuses don't happen like this in the future. Here's hoping the ICC see sense before the next tournament in Australia and New Zealand in four years time and don't exclude the associates and we can enjoy another extravaganza because, for all it's faults, this has been a pretty damn fine tournament.
Monday, 10 January 2011
IPL 2011: Who went where
A bit like the NFL Draft, for me probably the most interesting bit of the Indian Premier League, the BCCI's ostentacious slogathon showpiece, is the annual auction to decide what players end up at what franchises. Much of the tactical manouverings by franchise owners are based on player availability as much as track record in the Twenty20 format. Due to the former, a number of prominent players (Chris Gayle and Graeme Swann being two notables) were, despite having their names in the hat, not bought at all. The continuing, lamentable feud between India and Pakistan generally means the latter's players weren't eligble either due to "visa restrictions".
First of all, lets look at the big Indian names. Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag were all retained by their respective clubs prior to the auction (Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi respectively). Notable moves included Irfan Pathan moving to Delhi for a mind-boggling $1.9m (more than double the price of Zaheer Khan) which is mad considering he has not been international class for some time; Big-hitting all-rounder Yusuf Pathan picked up by Kolkata for $2.1m, and Gautam Gambhir likely to skipper the same club bought for $2.4m, the auction's most expensive recruit. Rahul Dravid, hardly a T20 specialist, by comparison raised a measly $0.5m and moved to Rajasthan, and Saurabh Tiwary - yeah, I don't know who he is either - commanded $1.6m from Bangalore. As is custom now in the IPL, 'marquee' domestic players command much more in auction prices than the overseas, and in many cases better, stars.
As for the rest, there are some fascinating, and some puzzling, purchases. I will particularly enjoy seeing how Mumbai get on with those close friends Andrew Symonds ($0.85m) and Harbahjan Singh (retained) sharing a dressing room and probably plenty of obscenities. With Tendulkar, Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard, there's plenty of batting firepower for the Mumbai side. Holders Chennai bagged a bargain in Michael Hussey for less than half a million, and having retained their best players (plus adding Dwayne Bravo and R Ashwin) they are likely to be in the mix again.
Deccan chargers have Kevin Pietersen, Dale Steyn ($1.2m - a steal) and Cameron White but will need to make sure the Indian domestic players they pick bolster the batting. Kumar Sangakarra at $0.7m is another bargain. Delhi only have one spinner in their 17 - Roelof Van Der Marwe - but on the plus side they do have Sehwag and David Warner. Stuart Broad is among the new signings at last season's flops, Kings XI Punjab (having divested themselves of the mercurial Yuvraj Singh, who's off to new boys Pune) but they were otherwise surprisingly picky at the auction, picking only 11 players. The other new franchise, Kochi, got Mahela Jaywardene, Brad Hodge, Sreesanth and Brendon McCullum, and I reckon they might just surprise a few people.
England-Irish genius Eoin Morgan joins Jacques Kallis, Brad Haddin and Shakib Al-Hasan at Kolkata; Rajasthan start once again as the weakest, blowing an extravagant amount ($1.8m) on retaining Shane Warne and spending nearly $2m on Ross Taylor and Johan Botha.
Making a prediction at this stage is folly, but there are lots of strong squads if you look at them all at once. I like the look of Chennai once again plus Kochi could go far. Mumbai will be there or thereabouts. Delhi to be this year's flops I reckon.
Oh, and why no Tamim Iqbal in the auction? There must have been a good reason - a shame as he'd be wonderful to watch in this format, surely tailor made for him.
First of all, lets look at the big Indian names. Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag were all retained by their respective clubs prior to the auction (Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi respectively). Notable moves included Irfan Pathan moving to Delhi for a mind-boggling $1.9m (more than double the price of Zaheer Khan) which is mad considering he has not been international class for some time; Big-hitting all-rounder Yusuf Pathan picked up by Kolkata for $2.1m, and Gautam Gambhir likely to skipper the same club bought for $2.4m, the auction's most expensive recruit. Rahul Dravid, hardly a T20 specialist, by comparison raised a measly $0.5m and moved to Rajasthan, and Saurabh Tiwary - yeah, I don't know who he is either - commanded $1.6m from Bangalore. As is custom now in the IPL, 'marquee' domestic players command much more in auction prices than the overseas, and in many cases better, stars.
As for the rest, there are some fascinating, and some puzzling, purchases. I will particularly enjoy seeing how Mumbai get on with those close friends Andrew Symonds ($0.85m) and Harbahjan Singh (retained) sharing a dressing room and probably plenty of obscenities. With Tendulkar, Symonds, Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard, there's plenty of batting firepower for the Mumbai side. Holders Chennai bagged a bargain in Michael Hussey for less than half a million, and having retained their best players (plus adding Dwayne Bravo and R Ashwin) they are likely to be in the mix again.
Deccan chargers have Kevin Pietersen, Dale Steyn ($1.2m - a steal) and Cameron White but will need to make sure the Indian domestic players they pick bolster the batting. Kumar Sangakarra at $0.7m is another bargain. Delhi only have one spinner in their 17 - Roelof Van Der Marwe - but on the plus side they do have Sehwag and David Warner. Stuart Broad is among the new signings at last season's flops, Kings XI Punjab (having divested themselves of the mercurial Yuvraj Singh, who's off to new boys Pune) but they were otherwise surprisingly picky at the auction, picking only 11 players. The other new franchise, Kochi, got Mahela Jaywardene, Brad Hodge, Sreesanth and Brendon McCullum, and I reckon they might just surprise a few people.
England-Irish genius Eoin Morgan joins Jacques Kallis, Brad Haddin and Shakib Al-Hasan at Kolkata; Rajasthan start once again as the weakest, blowing an extravagant amount ($1.8m) on retaining Shane Warne and spending nearly $2m on Ross Taylor and Johan Botha.
Making a prediction at this stage is folly, but there are lots of strong squads if you look at them all at once. I like the look of Chennai once again plus Kochi could go far. Mumbai will be there or thereabouts. Delhi to be this year's flops I reckon.
Oh, and why no Tamim Iqbal in the auction? There must have been a good reason - a shame as he'd be wonderful to watch in this format, surely tailor made for him.
Monday, 13 September 2010
Indian Premier League
Circus-like twenty-over tournament, remiscent of an advertising executive's wet dream. Bowlers are seen in the IPL as something of an unneccesary distraction, as is fielding; chubby slog merchant Yuvraj Singh has caused much mirth in cricketing circles by averaging about 7 in recent tournaments, presumably to take the media attention away from Lalit Modi's complete dodgy geezer-ness.
The IPL is also notorious for turning once respected commentators - and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan - into corporate shills by being forced to include all sponsors names at every juncture. And there are a lot. There are no sixes in IPL cricket; they're DLF Maximums. It's not a match turning passage of play; it's a Citi moment of success. Rumour has it that a commentator once referred to a six as a six. He has never been seen since.
The IPL is also notorious for turning once respected commentators - and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan - into corporate shills by being forced to include all sponsors names at every juncture. And there are a lot. There are no sixes in IPL cricket; they're DLF Maximums. It's not a match turning passage of play; it's a Citi moment of success. Rumour has it that a commentator once referred to a six as a six. He has never been seen since.
Sunday, 12 September 2010
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Strictly Come Batting
IPL 3 is underway and I have an issue with it.
Season one got by on novelty value and season two consolidated that. Now, though, it just looks like old men having a knockabout with some kids they bumped into on a local field.
The big stars of IPL 1 were the recently retired Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist et al. Now, however, they've been out of cricket for three years and their presence seems all the more unlikely and incongruous as a result. The backers would have you believe that this is supposed to be the best players in the world playing against each other, but the best players in the world are, in large part, involved in internationals elsewhere and won't arrive for a while, so instead you have this retirement home atmosphere and a competition featuring some of the best ex-players in the world.
It's much like the issues I have with Strictly Come Dancing. If I want to watch dancing, I'd like to see it done by people who know what they're doing and are at the top of their game. So it is with cricket. I'm just not interested in seeing long-retired players trundle in for four overs.
Season one got by on novelty value and season two consolidated that. Now, though, it just looks like old men having a knockabout with some kids they bumped into on a local field.
The big stars of IPL 1 were the recently retired Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist et al. Now, however, they've been out of cricket for three years and their presence seems all the more unlikely and incongruous as a result. The backers would have you believe that this is supposed to be the best players in the world playing against each other, but the best players in the world are, in large part, involved in internationals elsewhere and won't arrive for a while, so instead you have this retirement home atmosphere and a competition featuring some of the best ex-players in the world.
It's much like the issues I have with Strictly Come Dancing. If I want to watch dancing, I'd like to see it done by people who know what they're doing and are at the top of their game. So it is with cricket. I'm just not interested in seeing long-retired players trundle in for four overs.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Saints be praised, it's a miracle
Remember where you were and what you were doing at 12:27pm on Thursday April 30, for it was a momentous occasion. Tirumalasetti Suman, batting for Deccan Chargers against Delhi in the IPL cleared the fence over the covers for half a dozen runs. That in itself isn't that momentous, although the young all-rounder was included ahead of VVS Laxman, but it was for events off the field. Neither commentator referred to it as a 'DLF maximum'.
That is quite incredible. This tournament has turned previously decent commentators - and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan - into little more than cheap advertisers with their plugs for the tournament sponsors any time someone does something well. That makes this incident a turning point. I expect nothing less than a retraining course for Mark Nicholas and Kepler Wessels though summary sacking remains a viable and likely option.
After all, the BCCI thinks it controls commentators as well as players these days. In the Indian tour of New Zealand over the winter, Sky NZ had Craig McMillan in the com-box, much to the BCCI's chagrin because he went to play in the rebel ICL for a bit. In keeping with that Kiwi spirit that saw the ANZUS Treaty ripped up when New Zealand told the US to feck off if they thought they were allowing their nuclear subs into it's waters, Sky told the BCCI to flip off and keep it's nose out of business that clearly wasn't theirs.
Moreover, whatever happened to the professional commentator in cricket? In most sports you have a lead commentator who knows the job with colour provided by an ex-pro. Not in cricket. Your voice is only allowed anywhere near if you've played at the top level (though Nicholas is pushing it). At Sky in the UK, you really need to have been an England captain to stand a chance. While the knowledge of the game isn't up for dispute - even in Nasser Hussain's case - some leave a lot to be desired when it comes to adding verbal illustration to the pictures.
That is quite incredible. This tournament has turned previously decent commentators - and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan - into little more than cheap advertisers with their plugs for the tournament sponsors any time someone does something well. That makes this incident a turning point. I expect nothing less than a retraining course for Mark Nicholas and Kepler Wessels though summary sacking remains a viable and likely option.
After all, the BCCI thinks it controls commentators as well as players these days. In the Indian tour of New Zealand over the winter, Sky NZ had Craig McMillan in the com-box, much to the BCCI's chagrin because he went to play in the rebel ICL for a bit. In keeping with that Kiwi spirit that saw the ANZUS Treaty ripped up when New Zealand told the US to feck off if they thought they were allowing their nuclear subs into it's waters, Sky told the BCCI to flip off and keep it's nose out of business that clearly wasn't theirs.
Moreover, whatever happened to the professional commentator in cricket? In most sports you have a lead commentator who knows the job with colour provided by an ex-pro. Not in cricket. Your voice is only allowed anywhere near if you've played at the top level (though Nicholas is pushing it). At Sky in the UK, you really need to have been an England captain to stand a chance. While the knowledge of the game isn't up for dispute - even in Nasser Hussain's case - some leave a lot to be desired when it comes to adding verbal illustration to the pictures.
Thursday, 23 April 2009
At Least It's Sunny Here
With the IPL now in full swing in South Africa one of the main reasons for taking the competition to there was the weather. Now I'm no expert but its Autumn in South Africa, the weather is turning. Winter is around the corner and the Quinziste Rugby season is now in full swing with the Super (sic) 14.
So, how can Lalit Modi be over impressed with some of the weather that they have faced so far in South Africa. Rain hit the second day of the competition at Newlands when the Delhi Daredevils overcame Kings XI Punjab on the Duckworth/Lewis method. Then the move over to Durban didn't help Kings XI Punjab as they lost their second game via Duckworth/Lewis, this time to Kolkata Knight Riders and the ensuing game between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
Meanwhile the start of the season in England has escaped the worst of the April weather as the country currently basks in a late spring heatwave. Pretty ideal conditions for cricket to be honest.
Well done Mr Modi, a great decision to take the tournament to South Africa.
Oh, and DLF Maximums. Stop it. Now. It's a 6.
And before anyone reminds me, I know it's 75 years. Even Manchester City have won a title in that time.
Friday, 17 April 2009
IPL, oh pee off
Do you know what? Forget it. I'm not participating this time around.
I enjoyed last year's Indian Premier League. The cricket was pretty good with bona fide Twenty20 legend Brendon McCullum setting the tone with a breathtaking 158 not out on the opening night. Shaun Marsh became a star and, fittingly, the team assembled at lowest cost went and won it. Despite my initial misgivings over a completely artificial construct as the teams - I refuse to use the word 'franchise' apart from in this sentence - are, it kind of swept me along.
No mas. It's gone beyond parody and for this reason: while on the one hand imposing whopping great fines for slow over rate (actually something the ICC could look at), they're also introducing what they call 'strategy breaks', essentially a seven-and-a-half minute hiatus half way through each innings. I've never seen the word 'ad' spelled 'strategy' before. Deep down, we all knew it was more about TV figures and ad revenue than it was about cricket, but to make it explicitly so just spoils everything and you can forget all about it this year.
I enjoyed last year's Indian Premier League. The cricket was pretty good with bona fide Twenty20 legend Brendon McCullum setting the tone with a breathtaking 158 not out on the opening night. Shaun Marsh became a star and, fittingly, the team assembled at lowest cost went and won it. Despite my initial misgivings over a completely artificial construct as the teams - I refuse to use the word 'franchise' apart from in this sentence - are, it kind of swept me along.
No mas. It's gone beyond parody and for this reason: while on the one hand imposing whopping great fines for slow over rate (actually something the ICC could look at), they're also introducing what they call 'strategy breaks', essentially a seven-and-a-half minute hiatus half way through each innings. I've never seen the word 'ad' spelled 'strategy' before. Deep down, we all knew it was more about TV figures and ad revenue than it was about cricket, but to make it explicitly so just spoils everything and you can forget all about it this year.
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