This is not going to be an informative review about Cricket. This review certainly will touch some controversies & put my opinions on them. I will also express what I feel & my experiences with the game. You might find some self-praising statements in here but please bear with me..that’s not the purpose! I am an ’arrogant pig’ when it comes to cricket.
I promise you that I will try to give you a 100% honest review here. You might not agree at times but that is perfectly alright. I got a comment once that I am not that effective while presenting something about cricket, my eagerness to get point across leaves several steps of debate un-spoken & people think I am jumping to conclusions. Feel free to question about some of my opinions & will use comments section to elaborate them..!
Meanwhile, do read my reviews on Sachin, Gary Sobers, 5 Best Players, 10 Best ODI batsman etc I posted earlier.
Passion of Cricket
There is nothing in life I felt more passionate about in my life than Cricket. Even today I can watch a game of some local teams even on a tennis-ball. There is something very simple that attracts your mind to this game & there is hell lot of complexities that keep you involved in it. Playing cricket believe me is MUCH MUCH more an experience than actually watching it (may it be Sachin smashing Aussies all over the park). It would be an interesting maths if I had to count how many balls I have delivered in my life. How many miles I have covered both by balling, batting & of course fielding on cricket ground. Choked throats, bruised arms, face, legs was not a news!! The JALLOSH after a win & the inexpressible disappointment after a loss specially in a final of a tournament were all memorable events.
Total Absence of Sportsman spirit on Cricket ground that is! --and-- Umpiring
I was always a highly NON-sportsman-spirit sort of a person. I never wanted to be given out, I never wanted to be hit for a 4/6, I never wanted to concede a boundary or drop a catch, I hated to loose at any cost. I was & is sneaky too...I might say I was inside the boundary when I caught a call if I could get away with it! :) This is all the more surprising to me as I am VERY Honest once I wear an umpire’s cap, whether it is my team or not I was always perfectly fair & even-handed & that is the greatness of the game in my opinion. It makes you so competitive but at the same time you respect the game & not hurt it when you are supposed to a neutral person.
I have a special pride in my umpiring abilities & specifically my LBW decision making. I have almost perfected it by practice & also imagining by playing several scenarios in my mind. Even today I see a ball hitting the pads (on TV) & I shout ’thats out’ or ’nop..that isn’t’...95% of the time the replay confirms my judgment..at times I say ’too close to call’ & to my surprise I see ball clipping the bells in replays or going just above them (of course those S/Ws are also not perfect).
Does this mean I didn’t do mistakes...nop I might have made several mistakes in run outs & LBWs but the rule of thumb is that benefit of the doubts goes to the batsman. I modified it a little...benefit of the doubt goes to the batsman but only 2 times for the same person! :)
Cheering (or Discouraging) Skills??
Cheering while the game is going on is one of my special skills. It is a skill not to offend anyone in opposing camp, including the umpires but still make them feel helpless & discourage to the point of being irritating, balance that with a humorous remark which also makes an umpire smile. Cite a film dialog or a song to match the situation (Dhundo Dhundo re Sajana, Akele Akele kaha, Tum to Thehere, Spectra-wide etc) & you have got a perfect recipe for public entertainment & also cheering you pals up!
Natural Love for Bowling
I used to play with college student with cricket ball when I was 8 year old & used to bowl leg-spin in the games..I remember taking 2/3 wickets per game frequently by combining off spin/Leg spin & a faster one in-between. One leg spin after two off spins used to give me Stump-out (if same batsman stays at the end). Faster ones often used to yield LBWs. I couldn’t bowl Googley that good as my wrist wasn’t that strong & the ball used to be a half-pitch (& hence the off-spin). I started balling faster as I grew up & while I was in engg (after 12th) I was pretty good fast bowler (not medium fast mind you).
I had an action similar to Akram i.e. I didn’t use to jump in teh last stride. I used to imitate Kapil, Wasim, Imran at times & then Ambrose & Walsh too. I did imitate Malcom Marshal to almost perfection:his characteristics run up & quick bowling action. I adored (& still) Imran khan for his sheer cricketing brain & the vast knowledge. Also, his inspirational/influential abilities on/off the field. The best captain EVER in my opinion.
Cricket in USA
You would be surprised to know that I played more cricket in 5+ years in US than all put together in India for 20+ years! It was ix of a tennis & cricket ball. 40 over games were some of the most tiring exercise! used to bowl 8 overs & you can see some of the scores of the 2003 season at https://midwestcricket.org. (I was on #1 in top 15 bowlers till the time I played in the league, Had to stop due to return to India). Got to see some great talent in Indian & Pakistani, Australian players while playing there. Also got to play with a under-21 team coached by Vivek Rajdan (was interesting to discuss his test/ODI experiences).
My opinions on some CONTROVERSIES
(1) I think Sachin was a GREAT captain, he didn’t get support, got sabotaged by Azhar, Dravid/Ganguley couldn’t give any sign. performance when he was the captain. His MANY efforts went in vain due to failures of other members. He got fast bowlers in the team breaking Azar/Wadekar’s DIRTY plans of playing 4 spinners. Ganguley is a good captain in only one regard: supporting players & make sure they get enough chance before showing them the door & he doesn’t avoid controversies when they are required.
Apart from this Ganguly is below average wrt strategy, cricking brain, fielding placements, opposition strong/weak point knowledge & so on. But he is the best choice currently & I support his as a captain. Sachin is too goody goody & avoids being blunt/controversial at any cost. Also being from Mumbai he doesn’t have natural urge/ability to inspire/promote players...the City expects everyone to take care of themselves: locals, jobs, survival etc. So he finds it difficult if some player doesn’t know what to do..! Subject is much more deeper than the space allowed here. Maybe 1st comment.
(2) Sachin is waaaaaay better than Inzmam, Dravid, Mark, Steve Waugh & et all. Lara is very close but a ’little’ behind Sachin. & here is one controversial yet in my opinion the biggest fact people ignore: Vivian Richards was better than Bradman as a batsman & the GREATEST player of cricket of all times is SIR GARY SOBERS. (Check my separate review on him)
Check a few more REAL controversies (3/4/5/6) in the comments section Match Fixing, Dravid, Murali/Chucking etc. Please do leave a comment with what you think about the review.