Owner: Doosra URL:http://gonewiththewindies.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:49:12 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Anything and everything that has anything to do with cricket Site statistics:Click here
Whither Zimbabwe? 2008-06-29 10:17:00 The wound has been festering long enough and chucking Zimbabwe
out of the Full Members league looks a fait accompli as ICC goes into a huddle in Dubai.I don't doubt the reasons either. Probably Mugabe stands for all the vices of the world and the money meant for the players are finding their way to Peter Chingoka's account too. So ICC should not be worried about any backlash even if they slam the
Doosra goes AWOL! 2008-06-21 01:04:00 As you sulk and shout throughout the year, rave and rant till you froth at the mouth with relentless rage at an increasingly imperfect world, the keyboard caper, in its vulnerable moments, craves for a pause. It’s almost a Quixotic exercise of tilting at windmills as passionate bloggers, armed with their lone weapon -- keyboard -- wage a crusade against all the perceived ills and take th
5 wonders that await Asif on his release 2008-06-19 11:50:00 As Mohammad Asif packs his bag, hugs his new-found friends at the Dubai detention centre and heads for Pakistan, you cannot really rule out a Rip Van Winkle syndrome. Cricket is no more the game it was when Asif was nabbed in Dubai and here are the five wonders that are bound to make him as hallucinated as he was at the time of his interception. Kevin Pietersen switching on and off;Bre
On is off, off is on, right or wrong 2008-06-18 08:22:00 So here comes the official confirmation -- on his off, off is on, right or wrong. As Pietersen the peacock goes swaggering around after MCC announces that the touch of madness is actually a stroke of genius, my cynicism hits nadir. Replacing leather-flingers -- already at the receiving end of cricket’s own state-sponsored pogrom -- with bowling machine seems the natural culmination of the
What endears the Windies? 2008-06-15 23:28:00 The halcyon days are long behind them. The imposters have swapped their place and triumph raises eyebrows these days, just like disaster – like the 1983 World Cup final -- did in their pomp. They had their day in the sun and the prince is now a pathetic pauper. But still, what is it that endears the Windies like no other team? We belong to a fairly uni-polar cricket world with no end in sigh
Jest gone wrong? 2008-06-11 22:48:00 You are often compelled to nod your head in affirmation when Frank Tyger says there is no evidence that the tongue is connected to the brain.Enter Geoff Lawson after his tongue-in-cheek turned foot and mouth, I mean foot in mouth.Lawson prophesied Pakistan would spank India in the tri-series by 150 runs. Not really amused, Dhoni & Co fell 10-run short as they mauled Malik’s team. Since then,
Who killed the golden goose? 2008-06-10 22:17:00 Shahid Afridi can be heedless but he surely is not headless. The Mad Max of Pakistan cricket says he’s sick and tired of too many Indo-Pak encounters which, he feels, is killing the charm. Indeed, a bilateral series involving two separated-at-birth nations had all the ingredients to outshine the biennial dull, drab Anglo-Australian mismatch called Ashes. It would have been the blockbuster, Read more:goose
IPL, the holy shrine 2008-06-08 22:40:00 Rejoice, for cricket has finally chanced upon its version of the Church of the Nativity, Golden Temple, Al-Masjid al-Harām and Tirupati. I can see future, all roads leading to India as devotees from across the globe flocking for that annual pilgrimage that would culminate in the holiest of holy shrines, the Indian Premier League. Before you brand me insane, consider how many-- and more importa
From toast of the nation to pariah 2008-06-05 23:15:00 India doesn’t know how to treat her heroes – Arjuna Ranatunga.Alas, only the context changes and Ranatunga remains as relevant as ever. If you’ve followed BCCI moves over the past some months, you tend to believe:i. it was the forefather of one of the Board mandarins who smote Eddie Hemmings for four sixes in a row to avoid follow-on in that 1990 Lord’s Test;ii. Anil Kumble is t Read more:nation
Warne, take a bow! 2008-06-01 23:01:00 Another Shane Warne
folk lore! Einstein won’t mind if I borrow a line and say cricket generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth. I’m dying to know what Warne had told Rajasthan Royal teammates in his first address before the IPL started. It must be cricket’s equivalent of Winston Churchill’s “Blood, toil, tears, and swe
Martin, eat crow 2008-05-30 01:08:00 Provocation often comes from unexpected corners and in this case, Martin
Crowe’s observation – Dravid had the 7th best side to work with in IPL – provided the fodder for thought. Martin prepares a list where he meticulously catalogues what ailed the Bangalore Royal Challengers -- Murphy’s Law, Katrina Kaif’s omnipresence, Nargis (not the actress but the cyclone), soaring oil price, af
Of IPL, Gurukul and ballsy tricks 2008-05-27 23:50:00 My unflinching scepticism didn’t desert me when perpetrators of the IPL preached it would be a virtual Gurukul where tricks
of the trade of the cherry and the blade would change hands, from the battle-hardened bunch to the greenhorn lot.Ungrateful souls like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ranadeb Bose swear, and swear at, it’s otherwise but IPL has indeed lived up to the Gurukul hype and I’m especial
Indian Premier League: Circa 2011 and beyond 2008-05-26 03:12:00 I didn’t see CNN’s ‘Talk Asia’ programme which featured IPL ring master Lalit Modi this weekend. For that matter, I haven’t seen any of the episodes, even if that makes me lesser a human. And to be honest, I don’t see myself seeing any of the ‘Talk Asia’ episodes either, of course unless I figure there. But as a professional hazard, I read the transcript and found that during Read more:beyond
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Kanpur, Ahmedabad in 2010 IPL mix 2008-05-21 01:26:00 Purists can go and fly a kite. The Indian Premier League is getting bigger. Come Twenty10…I mean 2010… and Kanpur and Ahmedabad
too will be thrown into the IPL mix. Sahara is keen to get the Kanpur franchise, while Anil Ambani’s ADAG is speculated to land the Ahmedabad team. Here is a sneak peek into the future: Mohd Kaif would be found unconscious in his Noida flat following the
Welcome to Cricket Inc, and that’s the way out gentlemen 2008-05-19 11:12:00 # Australian players yet to see the money they were promised # Kolkata Knight Riders shows the door to five players # Royal Challengers Bangalore jettisons Charu Sharma # Team Mohali asks fringe players to shift to less-opulent hotels Well, I don’t expect foreign imports to be jolted out of their illusion of a dollar deluge yet. But by now, some of them must have regained eno Read more:Cricket
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Jayasuriya defies the age-old issue 2008-05-14 23:04:00 One more myth lay in tatters as the apocalyptic Indian Premier League chugs on. Once again, the stereotype has been shattered and once more, pre-conceived notions were hit for a six -- 11 sixes to be precise -- at the Wankhede Stadium last night. Champions of ageism preached Twenty20 is that brash drop-dead lass who woos the old as well but romances only the youth. It’s all about fresh faces, Read more:issue
Good morning Mr Modi…and hat’s off too 2008-05-13 21:28:00 In India, if you are trying to ‘cap’ someone, you are trying to hoodwink him. “Topi pehna raha hai kya?” To give devil its due, Lalit Modi is obviously not the first soul on earth trying to act smart but he definitely is taking the art to a new stratosphere. Now that the IPL is into its last leg (ok, ok, business end), the IPL madcap realizes the folly. Maximum six award, Orange
Of liver cancer, stupid cupid and Knight Riders 2008-05-10 01:13:00 Sourav Ganguly can’t be faulted if he looks a sulking misanthrope. And as if the Kolkata KnightRiders
didn’t have problem enough.Already depleted by the exit of Ricky Ponting (so what if he forgot to put bat to ball) and Brendon McCullum (so what if he sizzled only to fizzle subsequently), Shahrukh Khan and Ganguly hurriedly roped in Brad Hodge for his well-documented Twenty20 prowess. But c
The buck-bucking brigade and the Fifth Great Awakening 2008-05-09 00:55:00 Let’s start with the admission that we have been so blinded by the IPL razzmatazz that we simply did not bother to look beyond. But truth, whether noticed or not, remains truth and the fact is away from IPL’s obnoxiously materialistic hullabaloo, England has recently witnessed a spiritual awakening among its cricketer. Survey revealed Australian players are actually Fousts in Flannels w Read more:Fifth
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Triumph of the Underdog 2008-05-06 23:36:00 Nothing pleases me more than the triumph of the Underdog
. Since David slew Goliath and Kapil’s Devils did something similar in the 1983 World Cup, the sadist in me has invariably derived some sort of pleasure whenever the unheralded thumbed their nose at their obscenely mighty antagonists.Deccan Chargers’ victory over Chennai Super Kings may not be a watershed in the history of the game, but i
The rogue returns 2008-05-04 22:03:00 There is something eerily uncanny about the rogue. He’s like a scam that umpteen hush-up efforts can’t suppress. The froth that will inevitably and eventually surface. Almost a leitmotif in a Wagnerian opera. Let’s give the devil its due, Shoaib Akhtar is an unputdownable story with intrigues galore and he may not be the best ambassador of the game, but like cricket itself, his career is all
Will Pak players raise their hands, please? 2008-05-02 03:10:00 Now that IPL is in its adolescence, stock-taking seems an irresistible idea. But hang on, will the Pakistani players please raise
their hands, and possibly their game too? Intriguingly, the T20 World Cup finalists have not set the IPL alight. On the contrary, barring the possible exception of Asif, none of the Pakistani players pass muster. What happened to the T20 World Cup finalists? If h
IPL: Cricket Sans Frontiers 2008-04-29 23:36:00 In another world, Ricky Ponting revealing Matthew Hayden’s only chink in the armour to Ashok Dinda could have amounted to treason. Likewise, AB de Villiers tipping off Sehwag on what snaps Dale Steyn’s rhythm could have been a perfect ground to make a Quisling out of the Protea bat. Thanks to IPL, border – those haphazard scratches on Earth’s lovely round face- stands, if at all, blurr Read more:Cricket
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Costliest slap in cricket’s history 2008-04-28 22:32:00 The slap must be reverberating in Harbhajan Singh’s ears. When he hit Sreesanth beneath his eyes, Harbhajan could hardly imagine that it would go down to history as the costliest slap ever in the history of Indian cricket. IPL Mint in Suit Lalit Modi spelled out the arithmetic in yesterday’s Press Conference. He said a player's fee is divided over 14 matches and Harbhajan will be paid fo
Here is why Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth 2008-04-25 23:56:00 If it intrigued you what prompted Harbhajan to slap Sreesanth, here goes the Doosra exclusive which explains the inexplicable and gives you all six possible reasons: An ecstatic Sreesanth told Bhajji that Lalit Modi had just added a “Kiss-your-boss-nolens-volens” clause to the players’ IPL contract. Pat came Bhajji’s reply. Bhajji had actually asked Sree the secret o
WHODUNNIT! 2008-07-14 00:43:00 So cricket got its own Ben Johnson. Of course this is not the first time. Remember how we had to digest a World Cup sans Shane Warne? And a Champions Trophy without Shoaib Akhtar and Mohd Asif? But then what’s World Cup or Champions Trophy vis-à-vis IPL? These are mere bagatelles, compared to the blockbuster that IPL is -- a veritable cricket Olympic with a slightly altered view on its freq
Worshipping false gods? 2008-07-09 01:01:00 The manner of defeat can be more horrifying than defeat itself and I don’t think MS Dhoni or Gary Kirsten missed the obvious.The Asia Cup slipped through fingers. Worse, Indian batters can’t play spin!For the uninitiated, India has traditionally been the land of rope tricks, hemp, fakirs, tweakers and batters with supple wrists. Lo and behold! One more myth lays shattered.It’s not about one Read more:false
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Mendis and the faculty of serendipity 2008-07-06 22:51:00 Murali, Malinga and now Mendis. The Land of Serendipity will soon be known as the place where maverick bowlers, possibly with surnames that begin with M, are as ubiquitous as landmines there.And both are equally devastating, ask the Indians. Like the Three Princes of Serendip, the Lankan selectors seem endowed with this faculty of serendipity to discover freak talents, by accidents and sagac
Here is how England remains immune to change 2008-07-03 23:56:00 # The Egyptians, at some point of time, used slabs of stones for pillows; # Sometime in the ‘60s, schools in Tanganyika were closed because of a queer outbreak of contagious laughter that lasted for six months; # Sometime in the ‘80s, workers in a Las Vegas hospital were suspended for betting on which patient would die first.So, let’s be honest and admit that stranger things did happen Read more:England
Mayhem at Mannofield Park 2008-07-01 13:57:00 The publishing industry is abuzz and grapevine has it that ICC fountainheads Ray Mali, David Morgan and Sharad Pawar are burning midnight oil, co-authoring “101 Sure Shot Ways to Kill One Day Cricket”.How else you explain pitting an unsuspecting Liliput against the big Brobdingnag bully resulting in the ugliest mismatch in one day cricket’s history? And if this is how ICC envisages the ass Read more:Mayhem
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