GO PAK - Why I want Pakistan to win this World Cup

Back in '87 my dad brought home a copy of Sunday magazine (of the Anand Bazar group of publications) and on it's cover was a dapper Imran Khan in coat and suit. The cover story, I remember made compelling reading although I dont remember much of what was written. I'm sure it was all about how much he meant to Pak cricket (duh !!) and what a chick magnet he was. I remember a picture of Imran with Parmeshwar Godrej who probably coaxed him into doing a spot for Godrej soaps. That issue of Sunday which made me seek a copy of Imran's autobiography is what led to my fascination with Pakistani cricket. That also quelled, to a certain extent, the loathing I'd developed for Pak cricket after THAT six which Miandad had somehow pulled out of his ..er, hat.

In 1992, I was among a minority of one in a crowd of 10 that watched the World Cup Final at a friend's house in Madras. All through the match there was this back and forth between me and the rest. I was a traitor they said and as the match progressed, far worse things. I couldnt care less. To me all that mattered was that a team from the sub-continent was going up against a Colonial power and hence needed to win. I was ecstatic when Wasim took two in two. Mushtaq turned and teased. The incredulous expressions of the English batsmen was priceless. Oh, how I loved it.

There's the stable of fast bowlers that's such an envy on this side of the border. I mean, they are essentially the same as us but how is it that they produce all these great bowlers? Rahul Bhattacharya throws some light on this subject in Pundits of Pakistan but back in the day this was a big mystery. I'm sure everyone else wondered too. There were insinuations by the English of ball tampering which was typical English - point fingers and hide their own inadequacies against top quality swing. And surprisingly now Dan Vettori has decided to renew the allegations against Umar Gul. What a shame.

Then there's Shoaib. You cant party all offseason and dream of bowling 100 mph over 5 days. The guy doesnt even last 4 overs these days. Talk about waste of talent. You are just left to ponder the what ifs with him and partner-in-crime Mohammed Asif. Imagine Cheech and Chong bowling alongside Umar Gul. That'd be a heady cocktail. Unfortunately the two were interested in cocktails of a different kind. You must wonder had these two played in Imran's regime would they have been led astray?

Much has been written about the system in Sri Lanka - their competetive school-level cricket which is breeding grounds for their internationals. Australia has it's cricket academy and top-class domestic cricket. England and India have very good domestic systems as well. Even Bangladesh has invested heavily in cricket development. Pakistan doesnt even have a stable Board so one can imagine how it is at the lower levels. With a dysfunctional board and no structure to speak of it's amazing how they produce top quality cricketers. And it shows on the field. Their fielding is abysmally poor for a top flight team. There are days when you wonder if they should be playing cricket at all (e.g the test against Australia in Sharjah a few years back when they were dismissed for under 60 in both innings of a test). But boy can they turn it on !! Especially in formats such as this World Cup where they possess a knack for running into form at the right time. Seriously what makes them tick? Passion? Pride?

These last few years have been tough on Pakistan cricket but I really hope it survives. They are short on international competition and now there's talk of playing home matches in England. Now, it's not the same as playing in your backyard. Or is it? How many really watched the tests during India's historic tour in 2004? They'll certainly attract the crowds in England. An India-Pakistan test at Old Trafford is a mouth watering prospect.

Lifting the World Cup would be a great shot in the arm for Pakistan cricket. We need the romanticism of Pakistani cricket, their ability to thrill and disappoint in equal measure. Indian fans, I'm sure would like to see the rivalry between the two nations continue. While we gloat that we have a clean record in World Cups against our archrivals, Pakistan has done one better than us by getting to their 4th World Cup Final. They can get even on the wins if they clinch it on Sunday. And as they endevor to do so, they can count on the support of atleast one person from across the border.
(I started writing this during the warmups, before the WC started but didnt finish it. Then I thought it'd be apt to finish and post it now that Pak has made it to the finals).

Normal Service Resumes

While folks in New England may not think so, with the start of the new NFL season normalcy seems to have returned in various parts of this country. Suddenly there's so much news on the Sports pages and not all relating to Football. Lance Armstrong wants to return to the Tour after a three year hiatus (probably enough time for all the 'roids in the system to get flushed out), India's getting ready for the Aussies, MLB's in full swing.  Good times.

Team India gets it's rear end kicked

Let me start by saying I'm thrilled that Ganguly and Yuvraj have no place in either the ROI or India 'A' squads.

When was the last time the entire top order of the Indian team played in the SAME domestic competition? SRT volunteers to play for ROI in the Irani Trophy. RD, VVS and Kumble figure too. Sehwag and Gambhir will represent Delhi. Either the selectors cracked the whip or the seniors (probably under pressure from Kirsten) figured that after putting up a performance which can be charitably called half-assed, against SL,  they better get their acts together.

Normally this bunch wouldn't be bothered to play domestic. When there's pressure to hold spot or force one's way back into the national team you saw a Ganguly or a Zaheer Khan play Ranji. That's about it. I dont think there's ever been as much pressure on so many spots in the national team as there is right now. Other than Sehwag and to an extent Gambhir nobody else should take his place for granted among batsmen. The bowling looks more settled though with an exception -  Kumble needs to pick up a bagful of wickets during the Australian series or we may well see a change in captaincy next year. All for the better.

Google Chrome ...

This is probably late news, but Google's released a browser to compete with the IEs and Firefoxes of the world.

My initial reaction - I like it!

To give you an analogy; I have, in the recent past, wanted to have a cell phone that would just let me receive and place phone calls. I really am not looking for all the bells and whistles like a camera, music player, radio and so forth. Just a phone. This browser, it seems, would let me do that in the internet world. A browser, without a lot of the gizmos (like, for instance, Firefox's or IE's add-ons), that would just let me browse! You say it sounds simple? I say it sounds practical!

Try to download it and see what you think. Where would you find it? Well - Google it!

The hit is an error ... !

CC Sabathia - the former Cleveland Indians ace, now with Milwaukee Brewers, has been blazing away since he was traded. He was the Cy Young winner last year.

He almost had a no-hitter the last time he pitched, when what seemed like an error was recorded as a hit by the official scorer. The replays on TV seemed to indicate that it was an error on CC's part and the batter should not have been awarded the hit. It was one of those calls that would have had the likes of Bill Maher and Sean Hannity on the same page.

The scorer is sticking to his decision.

Why would it have been so difficult for the scorer to say, "Oops! I erred; it was an error to call it a hit and not an error!" - that for sure would have been a hit! (Sorry, couldn't resist the pun!)

Is it not ironical that, in a society that prides in giving the "second chance", the person committing the mistake would not "take" it unless s/he has absolutely no choice? In this case, if the scorer would have said "I blew it!", would it have been seen as a sign of weakness?

This goes all the way up. The example of the scorer and the error is very insignificant when we look at mistakes of greater magnitude.

I know one thing, it takes a lot of courage to say "I goofed up" ...

Coulda been the next Walsh

He could easily have been the successor to countrymen Michael Holding and Courtney Walsh. Instead Jamacian Usain Bolt chose sprinting. Not that he's doing badly in the chosen field. Given his supreme athletic ability I wonder what kind of impact he may have had with the ball on a cricket field. Looking at the way he toyed with his opponents in the 100m and 200m (heats and finals), he could well have been the type that would have knocked a batsman with a bouncer and just coolly walked back the top of his runup as if nothing happened. Would he have heralded the West Indian fast bowling revival? Alas, we'll never know.

And finally someone said it ....

The someone was Greenie from "Mike and Mike" on ESPN Radio. I listen to them sporadically and this morning, during the 5 minutes they were on my car radio, I heard Greenie and Golic's stand-in discuss about the top athletes in the world and the best all-time athletes. This was, obviously, a discussion after seeing what Michael Phelps has been doing at the Olympics.
At that time, Greenie said, that how the people in USA refer to the World Series champions or Super Bowl champions as "World Champions" - he opined that they were not World but American champions. Phelps on the other hand was a true world champion.
Phew, I was glad to hear some American say that!