Ashes - the ultimate "test" battle...

They say that the ships were ready to sail through the English Channel with the English team on board and herald the beginning of a new era in cricket with the first international contest to be played – between England and France – when the news of the “French Revolution” set stop on any such occurance. This may seem curious to the onlooker that the first international contest be played between nations other than England and Australia. And rightly so. Even when the fact is that the first international contest was not played between England and Australia – US and Canada share the honour – it is cricket between the two ancient rivals that made the game truly international and took it beyond English shores in real measure.
No one can accurately ascertain the era of the genesis of cricket or any of its postulated ancestors such as club ball. But fortunately, the accounts of cricket between Australia and England are candid and confirm. It is known that cricket was played as a leisure time pursuit amongst the British officials in India, SA, West Indies and Sri Lanka. It was likewise boosted by the patronage of the officials of the likes of Lord Harris and also the maharajas in India. In Australia however, due to the huge influx of the gold-rush gentry and of course the British convicts, cricket assumed popularity even more swiftly.
The first English team arrived in Australia in 1861 as part of a privately sponsored tournament. The fledgling Australian cricketers suffered royally at the hands of the English, although they played 18 Aussies against 11 Englishmen then. But the tour was a major success. However, it was only in March 1877 in Melbourne that Alfred Shaw bowled the first ball to Charles Bannerman of Australia in what can be termed as the first test match which Australia won, although it can be fairly adjudged that it was a near fluke. Fast forward to 1882 and the Oval test between the two sides and we would witness history in the making.
It was not that England had not been defeated by Australia earlier, but there was something teasing in the defeat on a damp Oval pitch that led the Sporting Times to publish its now legendary mock obituary. To start with, the English were favourites to win the contest. And they looked on course when the OZ were bundled out for just 63 runs in the first innings. Their second innings total of 122 as well did not augur well for an Australia win. But, “the demon” Spofforth proved to be the undoing of the English and took 14 wickets in the test. It was a genuine fickle-fortune cricket story which resulted in an Australian win and left the English with a sour taste. Many regard the match as the turning point in the cricketing Psyche of the people in England and Australia, in that the Australians were now deemed competent to defeat England. The events that ensued led to the genesis of the test cricket’s most fiercely contested rivalry- “the Ashes”, when the honourable Ivo Bligh brought back the small urn and the English pride.
And for most of the time, the legend has lived up to its name. It has been the backdrop for the run scoring feats of Hammond. It has witnessed the genius of Hobbs, the wizardry of Ranjitsinghji, the grace of Compton, the elegance of Trumper, the spite of Lillian-Thompson, the guile of Warne, the endurance of Arterton and the enterprise of a Waugh or Border. And it has witnessed the sublime Bradman. It is acknowledged that the leg theory or candidly the Bodyline phenomenon, was devised as a mechanism to counter the Bradman genius. After Bradman’s prolific run scoring in 1930, Jardine was keen to prevent any such occurance in the 1932 rubber when he initiated Larwood, Voce and company to terrify Bradman into submission. Many were injured , geniality was lost forever in cricket as CLR James assesses and Woodful, the Aussie skipper was quoted against the English captain through someone who leaked the altercation outside the dressing room. Some claim the guilty to be Bradman. This is also assumed to be an era when professionalism is said to creep into the game to the extent that the pure joy of playing the game seemed to give way to an aspiration to succeed at any cost. It is evident from an observation by CLR James. He makes his case based on the occasion of the hundredth ton of sir Don in first class cricket. The Don alludes to this particular innings when asked about the most satisfying innings, not technique wise maybe. The Don said that he felt incumbent upon him, to give to the crowd which had so cheered his achievement some reward after he had hit the run to complete the hundred. He went on to hit 71 runs in the subsequent 45 minutes. He added that he would have liked to bat likewise always had the circumstances allowed.
Thereafter, CLR James makes an enquiry into what those inhibiting circumstances were. It was the ruthlessness that crept into cricket which Ranjitsinhji, Shrewsburry or Hobbs were untouched by. Cricket was not just a pursuit for joy, enthusiasm and something meant to just entertain the audience with carefree exuberance. It was more of a war now. This sentiment and its true meaning can be ascertained in a more recent occurance. When Brian Lara was asked as to how he would like to be remembered as a cricketer, he answered – “as an entertainer of the crowds”. How much he would have been able to play just for the crowds is a different matter, but we get a glimpse of the aspiration of a player there.
Reverting to the main theme, and to cricket between the two nations, it is pretty easy to note that it has been rich in content and history. There have been players who have lived from “ashes” to “ashes”. Yet, it is appalling to see the current state of affairs as they stand. It has been easily a one sided affair for the last two decades and it is bad for cricket. So much so that it is threatening to loose its charm. Part of it can be ascribed to the dominant force that the current Australian unit have been. But, English cricket’s own inadequacy is no secret knowledge. There has been no one to fit into the shoes of a Gower or a Gooch frankly speaking. There has been no demonstration of the tenacity as was exhibited by a Botham in 1981 at Headingley or the terror that a Bob Willis inflicted on the Oz on the same occasion. The English cricket has just not found players to replace such masters – which they earlier had always been able to – while the Australians have always looked to improve ever since Border inspired them. Amid such cynicism however, there are the contests of the 2005 series where every match was worthy of an ashes gem. We thus hope that the contest would be revived in times to come and players would inject fresh vigour and enterprise into this mother of all sporting contests. And any such thing would be immensely gratifying for the cricket fan.

taare zameen pe..?

"chalo be landmark chalke koi book utha lo..."..this was my good frn kamra who had to furnish a bill in his company through purchase of books...k..i stood there in the favourite "sports" section in the bookstore...having read all those cricket stories, and a few other-sport bestsellers, what do I buy now...after taking a stroll through the floor and flirting with a few other sections - vis. finance, fiction and all, I trudged back to the sports section...I had to find something...and I bought the autobiography of Sir Jackie Stewart...for the uninitiated, this chap is a former Formula 1 champion from Scotland...alrite, shall try to make a read of it...
ever since i started to read his stories, he seemed to allude to some "complex" he had had for a long long time in his life....he spake the story thus...his son did not seem to be able to cope wid the academic pressure in his school....and all the details....after a suggestion from one of the child's teachers, he took his son to a doctor....and his son was diagonised with "dyslexia"....!!
but he tried to enquire about the possible causes for the condition and the doctor suggested it could be hereditary...well, none in our family have had the condition...or wait a minute...let me have a check up...voila, Mr Stewart himself was diagonised with the disease...and after completing full 41 years of his life....he was then reminiscent of the dancing letters/words, the unforgiving teachers of the school, the phobia he had had in his schooling years...and all this continued in his professional career as he made ample effort always to keep away from any embarassing situation as he was frequently requested for public speaking and other antics which may have required his reading or oratory skills or in tandem...
this was my first aquaintaince with the problem of Dyslexia...the motorist throughout the chapter spoke about a lack of awareness about the condition when a large portion of the European population was apparently affected by the disease in varying proportions...he writes as to how he tried to persuade the government officials to work in a proper direction whcih would be benefitial for dealing with the condition, all in vain though...in all this, I came to hear about the movie...going by the initial promos., I wondered if it had something to do with Dyslexia, but shed the idea thinkink it was the most obvious I could think as I was reading then about the problem...but as it is, the movie has actually dealt with the same issue...and how wonderfully has it dealt actually...for all the advancement and social(?)/medicinal/entertainment-industry/media superiority that the west enjoys, it was someone from amongst us who pioneered for the cause (or alleast I do not know of any western movie on the issue and neither does the author of that book)...this is where Aamir needs to be applauded for...I did not think as highly about him as people often suggested, but only prior to this episode...he actually demonstrated all th guts and courage that we can ask for in making almost a documentary...and of his directorial debut at that..its not that I belittle the entertainment value of cinema..its actually vital to have masala movies with a few good dhinchaik dance numbers where people can unwind..or a light hearted comedy to help relax and get our humor going...but I only wonder about the feeble or chicken heartedness of a few so called good directors who, inspite of being highly successfull seem incapable of growing out of their shells...(all that business of the johars, priyadarshans and bhansalis).......in this, Aamir has excelled as a true champion....

about "test" and "oneday"...

Lying on my bed(read mattress), watching the bowler churn out overs after overs and the batsman ducking under it or leaving it altogether as if it was never coming and the scorers finding peace from work, I thought what it was all about in test match cricket....?...and I had to find the answer from myself as I always had stood by it and felt for it....was it really boring, mundane, grim...? what about the excitement of a closely contested one dayer....the blitzekreig, the flsahy strokeplay...but as it was, it was just the beginning of the test and it had my eyes glued on the final day as one team tried to save the match while other one was desperate for 1 single breakthrough...and it did not come....through application of a few batsmen and the grace of rain-gods...so what about the prospect of all the men inside the inner ring...all circumventing the batsman as starved sharks waiting for a ship to sink...(bad one ..?)...anyway...and the prospect of throwing in your best bowler for an endless spell and hence increased pressure on the batsman for a long duration...what about the sheer duration of time...the focus..the concentration...the committment...and the resolution...thats the depth and width of test cricket which one dayers cant match....obviously, ill contested and dead tests can be very irritating...but if there is at all a contest,its pure delight...

pilgrimage...

initially we were 6...finally we were 3 left to start our journey...so we boarded the cab from noida to the new delhi railway station...i was carrying a "razai", that of my fello passanger and friend deependra..and both my co-voyagers were having a good time laughing on me for my carrying that object in mid of march anticipating cold weather...but i thot i knew better....thinking that we had some time to spare, we retraced out path from the platform (number 5 if i am not mistaken) to the main gate from the pahad-ganj side...to have a cup of tea each...not bad!...and after a while the train left the station...it was not too much fun thinking that we cud have been 6...the whole of the compartment was ours ...but 3 of the berths were to be vacant i thot...we were cracking jokes and reminiscent of past memories frm college...had our dinner expectedly and then some ice -cream unexpectedly....without much adventure, we decided to put our sleeping bags on...if only we had one ...:)...by this time, my friends had started eating their words...it was rather cold...as it always is in a train in north india at night in march...!!!...my friends needed no convincing that I had some experience of travel on train....it was a nice night's sleep and I was not the happiest soul to be persuaded to pack my bags to disembark at jammu-tavi.....outside the station we went...ques ...that of buses and people buying tickets...soon after, we were on our way to katra...after another hour or two, and a bumpy ride, we reached katra, the foothill or rather the valley where the pilgrimage starts on foot...nice sun overhead, we had to hunt for an ATM, for we had all relied on each other at the start of the journey...there was the UTI ATM smiling on us...i did the honors and regret for I feel the guys made miscalculations of our expenses later and I did not get what I had spent on them..anyways, its a pilgrimage..:)...breakfast..and then we had to hunt for a room...after much persuation and wait, we landed a room in the "Niharika Lodging", a govt. venture...it was great arrangement..it was cheaper than the regular hotel-lodging and the facilities, hygiene was far superior...only thing, get it booked online if u gotta get it before-hand..we were lucky however (or rather my smart work in tackling the manager)...coffee, bath, again coffee...basked in the sun for a while on the terrace and all set to start the "foot-work"....we reached the bottom of the hill, started the outing...there were shops all along the initial pathway...security checks were abound...had bisleri, and a bag on my back..(rather trademark of mine)..we were cheerful by now and craking jokes all-along, taking snaps, started the climb rather quick.....after the initial 2-3 kms, I volunteered for tea...it was there that the "food-fest" started...yes it was one !!!...climbing up the slope, we felt hungry every second moment..and we could not have asked for better arrangements...shops were abundant...i relived the hill-experiences...tea,bread-butter,bun-butter,rajma-chawal..parathe...it was proving to be a gala time...we exchanged a million stories in the time...it was a festive atmosphere..colors all around, pilgrims chanting 'jai mata di"..."main nai suniya..' and the likes...horses and mules carrying the old and not-so-old folks...the enthusiasm carried by the old man or rather "carrying" the old man to the top...alike in the little kid trudging through...it was great time!!!...after 3-4 hrs of ascent, and 12 kms of picnic, there were signs of reaching the destination which we started to feel....it was getting cold as the sun set beyond the clouds...and then it grew dark and the bulbs and lighting shone...we also reached the darbar meanwhile...bought the prasad, chanting and shouting the hyms, we started to move briskly...inside the campus, we had the bath which sent us shivering to the core and reminding me the winters which I had forgotton of, living in bangalore for a couple of years.....(just a snack break guys..resume the post in a while)....back frm the break.. well, i completed the post, did not save the latter part and boom it was lost...really tired now...rest of it later...

book review - the nice guy who finished first...

how about a book review...? lets see..

so this is a book about rahul dravid, the india cricket team captain and a quintessential gentleman..i read this one a few days back..or rather am still reading it..this is the second one on the same subject i have read in the last one year...i reckon reading biographies, autobiographies or even authorised biographies for that matter is a very enriching experience for one can get into the mind of the subject and take a different perspective on matters...and was this not an enriching experience..you bet..the guy was not gifted skill in abundance as a sachintendulkar or a brian lara...but he has been able to make a place of his own among such greats...as the author aptly writes in the preface about this...gordon greenidge was a great west indian opener of the 70s and 80s..but he was always overshadowed by sir viv......wally-hammond always trudged behind sir don in matters related to cricket...similar cases with gavaskar and gundappa vishwanath..but rahul has managed to come on his own even in the presence of the prodigy that be-sachin...
i think the success story of rahul has been a case of conviction .. of belief in one's abilities and one's own style..which may be unfashionable...when quizzed by harsha bhogale about the 30 hours he had to spend on the english wickets to score 600+ runs in India's tour in 2003, he aptly replied that this was the length of time he needed to get in his own as he was not a sehwag or a sachin...one must appreciate that this was when he was accepting the ceat cricketer of the year award...he acknowledges that he is a different kind of a batsman and plays to his strength..and guys what a skill-set he possesses...awesome..a cricketer being adjudged by his test record, rahul shall always be remembered for his grace, elegance and strokefullness...

then there is another book by one mr. vedam jaishanker...this one deals more on this life as a whole than just the cricketing feats....another must read...he recalls how rahul was very nervous as a school team captain and how he was superistitious..also about his early aquaintaince with the "possibility-theory" as propounded in the book "tough times......"..the guy read the book when he was 14 and tucked it below his pillow before sleeping...then, he symbolises intelligence, humility and grace even outside the field..he doesen't carry any airs around him and knows that he is looked up-to and conducts himself in a praise-worthy fashion...then he is brave enough, and has a perspective over things as he acknowledges while writing for a leading english daily that cricket was just a sport and did not need a mention on the front covers of news papers..there were other things that beget the nation and needed attention ahead of it...also, he took the blame on the chin and did not make any excuses about the ball tempering issue...he walked-off the pitch in his debut test @ 95 even when the umpire had not still raised his finger after he nick-ed a ball from lewis...well...i realise its a long post already...but given that i had read two books on the topic, this was not unwarranted...infact there is much more to share on the topic still..and yes....apologies for the mess-of-a-post with regards to the punctuations and other stuff...if you read my apology, thanks, for reading this one till the very end...

synopsys of a movie- spiderman 3

3 weekends back i watched this one...well i had to..coz it was long due and also that i had liked the earlier 2 versions...and its any-way a cozy feeling sitting in a theatre with your loved one(s)....well, my good friends that is...rajesh, deep, brij and abhishek.....:)i decided not to buy any cold drinks (i avoid them generally) and snack....given the health-crisis i want to avoid in lieu of my already skewed and messed-up lifestyle...well, this is one of the bizzare decisions i often take.....dont be moved unnecessarily, for i gulped galons of them only today...so after the chintu-candy adds., the show started...the familiar peter-parker and his mistress MJ adorned the screen and amused me....i was watching in anticipation as to how the screenplay would unfold...then the villains started to pour-in.....the theme this time round was about the evil-within...peter was hit on his bad notes by some extra-terrestrial being and started to loose his own....he although gathered himself in time....it was how one is very productive and invigorating....it was also some bollywood masala... can make the right decision even in most trying of circumstances..it was about how one had a choice always....about fighting the lesser being within....this line of thinking killing one of the gous in volved in a love-triangle..or rather his sacrifice...good that these guys are finally learning from us..:)..but then it felt like it was being overdone at the end of it all...the villains were far too many for a decent script...the action sequence was decent and the high levels of decibel even threw my heart pounding on a couple of occassions....in the intermission, i went to have a fruit-bowl...and returned after a good length of time to be dismayed to see the ads still being run...these guys have now figured out the tv mantra...show it in the middle of the innings(program)..everybody will have to watch...earlier, the gatekeeper had stopped me to inspect my bag...it contained all the real-juices of the world and other eatables whcih we had gathered for the week ahead...he seemed to be a bihari and sensed the good-boy in me :) and allowed me to carry them inside on the condition that i would not eat them inside...."hamari class laga denge agar dekh liya aapko khate hue"....he exclaimed..and i said "koi ni yar...nahin khayenge.."..it was so heartening to see trust and friendliness in a fellow-being ..hehe... :)....and ya..about the movie..it finally got over and we got back home..without rallying for long on the roads...