So Very Picturesque Between Tests

Ashes relived- England Live up to Promise

Magnificent Seven for Champions League T20?

Shattered Photo Album

Lying low after roof top advertisements?

Lee Fighting Clark (not Lark) and Birds

Ashes relived- England Live up to Promise

This was expected, but with an unexpected script. England looked to have a great chance to win this Ashes in a repeat of their home efforts in 2005. However, their horrifying loss at Headingley did sweep in the dangerous negative thoughts. It needed a great effort to dig themselves out of that mindset and they had to work hard for victory, but it was every bit worth it.

andrew flintoff

Eight centuries, three top wicket takers notwithstanding, Australia must feel this as somewhat of a shock defeat. They did have the arsenal, to a great extent; they simply failed to piece them together right. Just goes to show that the statistics may tell quite the other story, and that is why Test cricket is so fascinating. It shows grit through sessions, perseverance across days and a lion hearted efforts can did surpass the facts.

This cannot be such a big loss, Australia may have fancied their chances 50:50 and admittedly this is not the great England line up under Michael Vaughan, but they certainly had the edge going into the series. Not winning was not an option for England. Australia, on the other hand, have a lot of soul searching to do because perhaps for the first time in many years, they have shown a rather tactless, confused strategy, (if there was one) and there simply was not contingency plan for an England resurgence.

It’s good for cricket, better for Test cricket and perhaps in the years to come, the best thing to have happened to Australia because it will (hopefully) allow them to shed the shadow of their past number one misgivings and develop a brand new game plan to take the generation forward.

Magnificent Seven for Champions League T20?

Edgbaston saw an unusual parody of cowboys, Red Indians and dancing girls as the Magnificent Seven party descended on the Finals Day of the Twenty20 Cup. Ironically while the crowd got into the theme of the day, the commentators kept emphasizing that the winners were aiming for the Champions League Twenty20. The Twenty20 didn’t matter on its own? Money is where the mouth is…or is it the other way round?

Just to update, Somerset’s Marcus Trescothick stunned the underachieving Kent while Sussex were all over Northamptonshire. The Northants simply did not pick up the pace. Perhaps then, in keeping with the ‘bigger’ prize, they did not have the motivation given that even if they made it to the finals, there was no India on their itinerary given their association with players such as Nicky Boje, Andrew Hall and Johan van der Wath, who are yet to break links with the ‘black sheep’ of the Indian family, the ICL.

And I will get to watching the Magnificent Seven when the cricket finally subsides (may it never, no offense to Magnificent Seven, we still admire you).

Shattered Photo Album

What would happen to a photo album if the central focus was missing? That is what the Delhi District Cricket Association is wondering as Virender Sehwag is taking the dirty linen, to what many say, a long awaited laundry session. He is threatening to take the shirts of Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma and Ashish Nehra along with him.

Don’t believe this is a family affair? Ask Sunil Dev. He is the DDCA Secretary. His comments on Sehwag was that these were small family matters and that one should not run to the neighbor to tattle on the family. Tut-Tut, Viru!

All the Daniel Vettori fans need not worry. The Daredevils appear safe for now. And Delhi cannot dump Sehwag as he has a three year contract with the IPL team.

2011 could be a different prospect though. With the IPL 4 threatening to go to deranged levels (94 matches! As if 59 were not enough), it won’t matter which cricketer playing for which team. It is bound to become a blur.

Lying low after roof top advertisements?

Suddenly the premature news of the England squad for the final Test of the Ashes at the Oval appears to have sounded the warning as the submarine has dived and is in silent zone.

Trumpets, drums and clarinets were heard loud after England tumbled in Headingley. Apart from Andrew Flintoff and Andrew Strauss, no one was a certainty (okay, that’s an exaggeration). But it was perplexing as to who could calm the din as Marcus Trescothick was suffering, Mark Ramprakash eagerly awaiting on twinkle toes and Stuart Law even changing his land of hope. The one-off scenario appeared to have appealed to all but Trescothick.

Then a dustbin flyaway revealed it all, so says a journalist in the UK. The England line up was exposed on Friday even as the ECB was preparing for a formal revelation on Sunday. And a curious calm has set on the stage.

Lee Fighting Clark (not Lark) and Birds

Even birds cannot seem to resist the prospect of eating into Brett Lee’s wickets, quite literally. Apparently in the game against the England Lions, a bird (seagull so I am told) swooped down on a bail that dislodged upon the disturbance of a delivery from Lee and left the match with an unscheduled break while the umpires called for another bail.

But Brett Lee is hoping that Tim Nielsen is not sending him on a wild goose chase as the Australian coach talked of the possibility of Lee and reverse swing joining hands at the Oval. But where does this leave Stuart Clark? Hilditch mentioned he was last in line of Australia’s preferred fast bowlers. Clark wants to clarify – last after Lee?