Sunday, December 9, 2018

Notes from Adelaide

I am writing this piece just as India have worked themselves into a winning position in this first Test match at Adelaide. However anything can happen tomorrow, and if Australia go on to a highly unlikely win, there will be some serious introspection about how Rishabh Pant and the tail batted on day four. The likely scenario is that India will win because of their brilliant bowling unit, and the grit of Cheteshwar Pujara. They will win in spite of some dreadful batting in the first two sessions on day one, and the second session on day four.

Whatever the result of the match, some things caught my eye as I watched parts of the telecast.
  1. Isa Tara Guha is a wonderful addition to the commentary team. She has a lovely soft voice, an infectious laugh, and provides the occasional good insight. I look forward to Guha and Warnie doing commentary together - they work well together.
  2. Another great addition is Mark Butcher - he has a great sense of humor, is quite forthright, and as the host of Extra Innings he gets the other panelists involved.
  3. Talking of commentators, I hope the network guys get rid of Murali Kartik as soon as possible. He seems like a nice guy, but is all at sea when asked a searching question. His favourite line is "I completely agree with Clarkey...". Kartik has no insights, and although he speaks good English, has nothing interesting or original to contribute to the proceedings. He is not as bad as Rajit Fernando, Rameez Raja or Ravi Shastri, but I am grateful for the mute button on my TV remote whenever Murali Kartik opens his mouth. Get rid of Kartik, and if you need an additional Indian voice, get Sanjay Manjarekar.
  4. Rohit Sharma and K.L. Rahul have outlived their usefulness as Test Match batsmen on overseas tours. I hope they are given instructions to demonstrate their ability to play long innings in Ranji trophy and released from the Indian team.
  5. We need a real coach, so the sooner we get rid of Ravi Shastri, the better off we will be. Let us get in someone like Rahul Dravid - a guy with substance and pedigree. Meanwhile someone needs to do some plain speaking with a few of our players.
    1. Someone needs to tell Mohammed Shami that the next time he goes out to bat, we don't want to see him play any attacking shots at all! Show us that you value your wicket! If you hack at a ball and get out, we will drop you.
    2. Rishabh Pant should be given a target to play an innings where he must play at least 100 balls, else let us bring in Dinesh Kartik.
    3. Ajinkya Rahane's tendency to play the occasional loose shot is letting him and the team down. Once we have a real coach, he should probably tell Rahane to get a hundred to prove that he can play a long innings. Just saying that long innings are good in pre-match interviews is not good enough.
Over to day five at Adelaide.

Thursday, December 6, 2018

Kohli and Shastri demonstrate how to lay an egg when the chips are up

Day one of a highly anticipated Test series in Australia. Perhaps the weakest Aussie side in a generation. Perhaps the best Indian Test match bowling unit to tour Australia. A great opportunity to start the series on a good note.

But the Indian team went ahead and laid an egg. Actually a half dozen of them.

It started before the toss. Kohli and Shastri have made a habit of bad team selections at the beginning of overseas Test series, and habits are hard to break. They dropped Rahane for the first two tests in South Africa, and Pujara for the first match in England. Here they had to choose between Hanuma Vihari and Rohit Sharma as the sixth batsman. Common sense pointed to Vihari - a traditional Test match style player, with a good start to his Test career. Rohit Sharma has been tried and discarded several times as a Test batsman. He is a "talented" guy with an unbelievable limited overs record, but a suspect Test temperament.

Kohli and Shastri value aggression and "intent". That is what led to the dropping of Pujara in England earlier this year. So Rohit was the choice. I was not surprised.

And that is how the first egg was laid before the toss.

What was India's best case scenario at Adelaide? Win the toss and bat. Grind the Aussie bowling into the dust on a good batting track! Make them pay the price for dropping Mitch Marsh, the fifth bowler. Kohli won the toss and decided to bat. I was rubbing my hands in glee!

That is when the Indian team proceeded to lay the next 5 eggs.

The less said about K. L. Rahul, the better. I have never been convinced about this guy and have written about him as too loose for Test cricket for a long time. However he made an "aggressive" hundred in the last Test match in a losing cause in England. So he must play. And lay an egg. Which he did in spectacular fashion with a booming drive away from his body to give the Aussies their first wicket.

Murali Vijay was a wonderful Test match opener before Shastri and Kohli started this bullshit talk about intent and aggression. And pedigreed Test match batsmen feared for their place because of lower strike rates. So Vijay has started attacking more, and become loose. He was out to a horrendous shot. Egg number three was laid thus.

Sir Kohli was looking alright for a while, and he was expected to start with a hundred. But the darned Aussies had plans for him. He delivered egg number four with a terrible shot to a full wide delivery.

Before the start of the Test match our vice captain Ajinkya Rahane had declared that his goal was to bat long! His theory is that batting long is the key in Test matches. So he proceeded to make several attempts to throw his wicket away. He had a few close calls against Nathan Lyon, but ultimately laid his egg when he chased a full and wide delivery from Hazlewood. Screw batting long - show intent to please the coach and captain. Egg number five.

Egg number six was interesting because it complemented egg number one. For a while I was worried that egg number one was not an egg at all because Rohit was batting well. However he delivered egg number six and at the same time confirmed egg number one with the worst shot of the day.

Ravi Shastri is the worst thing that has happened to Indian cricket in the last 2 years. Indian cricket needed a foil to captain Kohli, someone who could really challenge him. However we allowed Kohli to fire Kumble and hire Shastri because Sir Kohli needed a cheerleader, not a partner.

India may yet win the Adelaide Test match, but that is not the point. When you play overseas, you have to be able to grind out Test match wins by playing percentage cricket. However they might have frittered away a golden opportunity in the interest of the optics of "intent and aggression" rather than the qualities of persistence and patience.


Thursday, August 16, 2018

Surrender at Lords

Yes, Joe Root won a match defining toss. Yes, England got the better of the conditions. Yes, Kohli and Shastri again got the 11 wrong. And yes, Kohli was playing hurt.

Yet, the scale and manner of India's defeat at Lords was astonishing. For a team that had set out to "try and win every match, every session, every ball", all that this Indian team managed to win at Lords was some pity.

There are three matches to go - some may say it is an opportunity to come back in the series and show some fight. However only time will tell if this team has the skill and (more important) resolve to do that.

Honestly, it is hard to see any positives from this Test Match.

The batting unit has become a disaster. Pujara - dropped in the first Test due to poor form - mysteriously regained his form and made it back into the side. He has the technique and is willing to do the hard yards, but his confidence is shaken as he can't be sure of his place in the side with Kohli at the helm. Clearly he is not a favourite of this team management who would like more attacking options. In this match he looked good until the captain ran him out and then the poor guy got a good delivery in the second innings. If I were Kohli, I would sit down with Pujara and assure him that his place in the Test side was assured for a while, and stop bothering him with this stupid talk of "playing with intent". For goodness' sake - LEAVE PUJARA ALONE!

Rahane is another one who seems to need a little bit of reassurance. I would give him one or two more Test matches. And ask Bangar to help Rahane leave the ball outside off stump. Let him only practice leaving the ball and playing straight down the track for the next 5 days of batting practice!

KL Rahul is a mystery. When he started playing international cricket many were comparing him with Rahul Dravid. However all this talk of playing with intent has made him an exciting white ball batsman, and a poor red ball batsman. I suppose we have to keep playing him and hope for the best.

Hope for the best is also a good strategy with Murali Vijay and Dinesh Kartik. They will hopefully turn their games around soon - frankly they didn't look very good at Lords.

For India to make a dent in this series, at least 2 of our batsmen other than Kohli have to come good - the best bet is Pujara, followed by Vijay and Rahane.

The bowling unit looked good at Edgbaston, but didn't do very well at Lords.. I can understand why Kohli brought in Kuldeep Yadav, but he should have replaced Pandya, not Umesh Yadav. Umesh Yadav was once a highly promising Test Match bowler - still is - and to prefer Pandya to Umesh Yadav in seaming conditions is not good selection. Pandya's long rope as a result of his 93 at Cape Town seems to be running out - not fast enough though.

Over to Nottingham!

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Deja vu at Edgbaston - marks out of 10

A wise man once told me that one doesn't learn from past experience. One learns by reflecting on the past experience. Looks like some reflection is in order for Mssrs. Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri. 

The just concluded Edgbaston Test match felt very much like the Cape Town Test match from India's last high octane overseas Test series. Close match, India lost in the end, and the result probably hinged on some dodgy team selections. Here are my marks out of 10 for the Indian team.

9.5 - Virat Kohli, the man on the field - He doesn't get 10 only because he was troubled by Anderson, and was dropped early in the first innings. The transformation from 2014 was remarkable, and his batting heroics would have won India the match, had his evil twin - Kohli the captain and selector - not got in the way. His brilliant run out of Root in the first innings turned the innings on its head. Hats off to this man's grit, determination, work ethic, and desire. A true role model as an athlete.

9 - Ravi Ashwin - Frankly, the jury was out on Ashwin's ability to make an impact in non subcontinental conditions. He made a huge impact in both England innings. Just as Kohli appeared to be the most improved batsman in these conditions, Ashwin is clearly the most improved bowler.

8.5 - Ishant Sharma - Ishant bowled with fire and skill and didn't give away any easy runs. His 5 wickets in England's second innings presented India with a great chance to win. As usual he put a big price on his wicket - something our batsmen could learn from.

7 - Mohammad Shami - Looked laboured but generated some pace and bowled with some fire in the first innings. He has always been one bowler in this side who looks threatening most of the time. That has not changed. He could learn some grit from Ishant when he comes out to bat.

7 - Umesh Yadav - As always - pacy, erratic, and occasionally threatening. He was erratic and nervous in his first spell on the first morning, but recovered to take some wickets. His support to Kohli as a batsman was an added bonus.

5 - Hardik Pandya - Hardik continues to disappoint both as a bowler and batsman. Honestly, he doesn't look the part in the Test side. However his 93 in Cape Town has given him a long rope - hopefully it won't run out before he comes good. His second innings 31 came too late to have an impact.

4 - Murali Vijay - He looks the part as a Test batsman, perhaps the only one besides Kohli and Pujara with the technique and temperament for this format. However he gets out too often without a significant score, after having done the hard work of getting in.

4 - Dinesh Karthik - This Test match showed why he is not India's first choice keeper in Tests. His keeping was patchy. He was at least partially responsible for Dhawan's drop of Rashid at a crucial time. His batting has been very disappointing - Saha has shown more grit and staying power without the flair of Karthik.

3 - Virat Kohli, the captain - He doesn't seem to have learnt much from his experiences in South Africa. He picked Dhawan and Rohit at Cape Town and dropped Rahane. It turned out to be a disaster. Another set of team selection blunders here. The dropping of Pujara was a howler, and I don't know what else Dhawan has to do to demonstrate his problems against the moving ball. Picking Kuldeep instead of one of the seamers might have helped as well. And why does Ishant Sharma bat after Shami? Virat, please send a clear message to the team and promote guys who put some value on their wicket.

3 - K.L. Rahul - He is just too loose to be a good, consistent Test match player. Got out to an unplayable ball in the second innings, but his stroke in the first innings should embarrass him. Someone needs to sit him down and have a chat with him about showing some grit. However that is the coach's job, and we don't really have a coach to speak of.

2 - Ajinkya Rahane - It hurts to see Rahane bat the way he is batting at the moment. He has not been the same after being dropped in Cape Town. Perhaps the batsman with the greatest potential for Test cricket after Kohli and Pujara, but lets himself down with a poor temperament. If handled well, could still become a very impactful player for India. But again, that needs a proper coach.

2 - Shikar Dhawan - Great limited overs player, very good Test match player in the sub-continent, but does not have the technique to survive for long periods against the moving ball. He didn't look good in this Test match. His poor slip catching has not helped either. I would be surprised to see him in the eleven at Lords. But you never know with Kohli and Shastri.

1 - Ravi Shastri - I don't know where to start with this guy. What is his role? How is he preparing the team? How is he helping the captain with team selections? By his own admission he is a man-manager. The Indian team needs more, much more. For his own good, and for the good of the team, a headstrong guy like Kohli needs someone to challenge his ideas - Shastri is not the guy.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Lessons from Cape Town

The surreal ball tampering story from the Cape Town Test match has unfolded at a breathtaking pace over the last few days. While Australia mourns the demise of its proud cricket tradition there is a clear sense of schadenfreude among cricket followers in the rest of the world. Given the culture that has evolved in the Aussie teams since the days of Steve Waugh, the Aussies had it coming.

I think there are lessons to be learnt from this sorry episode, and instead of rejoicing in the misery of the Aussies, other teams need to take a step back, think about what they are doing, and make the necessary course corrections. So what are the lessons from Cape Town?


Team culture drives behaviour

Culture matters, and the tone for team culture is set at the very top. Culture is the environment that determines which behaviours are frowned upon, and which ones are allowed to flourish, or even encouraged. There can’t be a better (or worse) example of the effects of culture than what Darren Lehmann has done to the Aussie team. Lehmann was brought in by the Aussies to re-introduce the “hard edge” in the team in 2013. Lehmann has a history of boorish behaviour, making loose statements, and disrespecting the opposition. I have long been a big critic of Lehmann and have written about his hypocrisy several times.

The folks in Cricket Australia who brought in Lehmann promoted this culture of excessive sledging, disrespect for the opposition, and pushing the boundaries of fair play unless caught and sanctioned. All this bravado about “playing hard and fair”, “head butting the line”, “banter is fine” has become the Aussie cricket culture. The culture was ripe for the seeds of cheating to be sown.

The lesson we must learn is that any visible signs of undesirable cultural traits must be nipped in the bud. When Lehmann said that Australian crowds must send Broad back crying from the Ashes, Cricket Australia should have censured him, and apologized for his statement. When Lehmann said that the Aussie team would “head butt” the line, he should have been given a dressing down and asked what he meant. Hell, he should not even have been given the job.

Brendon McCullum provides a shining example of how a great team culture can be developed. Our own Virat Kohli would do well to look at McCullum and learn from him.

Dissent matters

In 2001, a flight of the now defunct Swiss airline Cross Air crashed off Zurich airport. Investigations revealed that the crash was due to a completely avoidable pilot error, which was made by the Captain. The cockpit voice recorder established the remarkable fact that the First officer noticed that the Captain was violating an altitude guideline and suggested that they must increase their altitude. The Captain however completely ignored the suggestion, and given the hierarchical culture in airlines, the First office kept his mouth shut and allowed the Captain to make the error, causing the aircraft to crash into a hill. The crash resulted in the death of 24 people including the cockpit crew.

When the suggestion was made in Cape Town to tamper with the cricket ball, everyone knew it was illegal, and those in the know had the opportunity to put their foot down and not allow it to happen. They didn’t and it has resulted in the biggest crisis in Australian cricket.

One of the major corrective actions that followed the Cross Air crash was mandatory training for flight crew to have the skill and courage to challenge what they deemed inappropriate, and this is the second lesson for cricket. Cricket must look at doing the same because sports teams are big on "standing up for their mates". In particular this is a big red flag for the Indian team. After Anil Kumble was unceremoniously dumped as the head coach, we brought in Ravi Shastri.  Shastri is an extroverted, articulate guy, but the problem is that he is very unlikely to challenge anything Kohli does. Given Kohli’s strong personality, there is no counterbalance in case he does anything remotely inappropriate in the pursuit of winning. And we know that culture deterioration often starts with small things that go unchallenged.

Winning isn’t everything

I will stick my neck out and say that New Zealand is perhaps the most loved cricket team in the world. They certainly are my favourite team, and when they play India I almost feel guilty rooting against them! One of the most disappointing sports moments for me in recent times was New Zealand losing the World Cup finals in 2015. When I see Kiwi players like Craig McMillan and Neil Wagner sledging the opposition, I fervently hope that such culture does not take hold in that team. So far it has not.

The Kiwis are not the number one team in any format. They perhaps lose as much as they win, but they consistently punch above their weight.  By population, the country is just about the size of Kolkata.  However they are always up for a scrap, and play hard without disrespecting their opposition. Winning is important but it isn’t everything, and such a mindset needs to be carefully cultivated to prevent teams from using unfair and illegal means to win. My son plays competitive golf, and I have often seen kids cheat at golf because their parents knowingly and unknowingly put a lot of pressure on them to win. Whenever my kid comes back from a tournament round, I never ask him his score. I ask him if he was happy with the round, what was his best shot, and what he learnt that day.

So the lesson for the cricket administrators and players is to celebrate fair play as much as winning.

So there you go – Cape Town offers lessons far beyond the obvious ones, and teams around the world would do well to carefully look at what they must do to avoid going the Aussie way.