Off Stump

Apart from the fact that there is a massive overdose of meaningless matches, the reason that I have almost completely tuned out of watching ODI cricket in recent times is that there isn't much variability to the quality of cricket. Its as if each match/series is played from a selection of four or five templates with a pinch of variation here and there. The format has gone completely stagnant and as a viewer/follower its really hard to get excited about most contests. Sport is at its best when three ingredients come together - 1) A sense of occasion/context (which is why marquee Test match series, the football World Cup, and the Grand Slams in tennis are always worth following), 2) A battle (preferably equal) of both skills and wills, and 3) An ever increasing quality quotient. The third aspect is probably the hardest in cricket (and in football) given that so much of the game depends on individual ability (as opposed to technology which makes comparisons across eras in say tennis,...

As a single sport website, I think Cricinfo has brought about a revolution and the fact that they were bought by ESPN is testament to how highly valued they've become. Their editing and approach to articles/opinion has been refreshing to say the least and even though they seem to have had a lot of editorial staff movement they've usually maintained very high standards. Off late though, both in their headline styles as well as in actual content, there seems to be an occasional slippage of standards and an inching towards the modern media sensationalism which is a bit of a pity. This piece  by Siddharth Monga is a classic example. Granted that the last two press conferences by Dhoni and Sehwag  indicated clearly that the captain and his deputy did not agree on this aspect of selection but "discord", "dissent", "public sniping" feels rather presumptuous and heavy handed. Yes, it is a team sport but there is no reason why everyone on the team needs ...

I'm a big fan of Suresh Raina . He's almost unique amongst Indian cricketers in that he's always energetic, keen to be involved (whether with bat, ball or on the field) and genuinely smiles often. That plus the fact that he's struggled to make it in Test cricket despite obvious ability makes me almost think of him as a modern version of Ajay Jadeja . Its hard to think that even as recently as the group stages of the World Cup, he was left out of India's one-day side in favour of Yusuf Pathan . However, it is true that in the last two years or so, his ODI batting performances have started to look a bit anaemic and he does not play the match-turning innings quite so often. Granted that he comes in at #6 or #7 most often and that's a tough role to play but of particular worry is the fact that his average in away and neutral games is much poorer than his record in India. Given that the next World Cup is in the Antipodes and Raina will be expected to be a senior ...

The gulf between this Indian side and their hosts over the last seven weeks or so has been quite significant (on average) from a cricketing perspective but two events from this past week highlight how big the gap is even off the field. First, Dhoni's suspension for one game (for slow over-rates). Its hard to imagine the Australian team management (coach, selectors etc) allowing their captain to get suspended for the second time on a single tour. I'm a big fan of Dhoni's (despite all the flak he's copped this tour) but even an immensely capable man like him occasionally needs some guidance and support. And here, Fletcher hasn't had a single thing to say about it (more or less like his silence on the rest of the tour). Its surely not a coincidence that both the transgressions have come when India have chosen to play four seamers, so its not as though the solution is hard to find (even setting aside the tactical questionability of that team composition). Hopefully,...