Kerry Packer and reinventing cricket

Tributes are pouring in for the man who was instrumental (that's underplaying his role) in changing cricket forever, and richly deserved encomiums are being lavished upon the intrepid entrepreneur who was known to be a somewhat inveterate gambler, in more ways than one.

Thinking about the changes that World Series Cricket wrought in the cricketing world, directly or indirectly, one thing that stuck me was how all the innovations in cricket, for better or worse (which is always debatable), have come from outside the sub-continent. Mostly from England and Australia, some from the other two nations in the Southern Hemisphere. I would like to think the most recent innovations, the supersub and the powerplay, were inspired by ideas from the sub-continent, may be I'm missing something there. The innovations I'm talking about are those that change the way game is played, like the 30-yard circle and related restrictions, the consequent emergence of the pinch-hitter, the reverse sweep, the third umpire etc., and those that change the way the game is viewed - stumpcams, snickometer, hawk-eye, super slow-motion replays etc.

The one change I can think of that perhaps was driven by India and Pakistan - certainly Imran Khan lobbied hard for it - was having neutral umpires. Considering the passion for the game, it is indeed surprising that something like Twenty20 didn't come from India. I'm not indulging in any self-flagellation here, just a thought, somewhat tangential to the topic of this post. Anybody have any insights into this (or indeed corrections to make)? Some may suggest, half-seriously, that we have invented whole new ways of selecting teams and individuals, and I'll have to agree with that ;)

- NK

Masters of The Game

Will he, won't he? Heck, so what if he does, and what if he doesn't? Surely, heavens are not going to fall, any which way. In the end Ganguly made the team. Bengal was saved; and by the longest stretch of imagination possible, so was the nation. Thank heavens for that! Now we can all play cricket. The Kaifs of the world be damned.

But will Ganguly make the final eleven? Not to worry. If he doesn't, we'll burn a few m(M)ore effigies, sign petitions, lobby politicians asking them to lobby other politicians who, by sheer coincidence it must be said, happen to be running the cricket board of the country. Which, again entirely coincidentally, happens to be the richest cricket board anywhere. Not that politicians are remotely interested in controlling the money. And of course, they are not remotely interested in controlling the game either. They are in cricket because their hearts beat for the game, for the teeming masses that worship the game and those that play it.

In any case, who can tell the difference between politicians who have turned cricket administrators or administrators (yeah, you guessed it, by a quirk of fate) are fine politicians in their own right? What we do know is that they are distinguished citizens who believe in letting things take their own course, per the letter and/or spirit of the law. But then, not everything can be left to take the the natural, just course. Extraordinary situations, which by the way are as frequent as Inzamam run outs, demand extraordinary steps. That's when it's time for the honourable men to step in, and make everyone see light. It helps, though, to have people of strong moral fibre, like a certain former wicket-keeper, carrying out the thankless acts. A fine gentleman, that, although his thick hide belies it.

Didn't we reach a consensus after all? Politicians, did I say?

- NK

Chelsea's the team to beat; so's Barca

Despite the most fervent prayers from Man United fans, Chelsea remain firmly in control of the Premier League - for once some ManU fans may have egged on Arsenal, given that Arsenal were realistically out of contention even before the game last Sunday. Arsenal have had a poor record away from Highbury and they looked downright dreadful when Henry was out injured. Their defence still looks brittle - Pascal Cygan has been weak, and even Philipe Senderos looked vulnerable time and time again against the pace and skill of Drogba and Robben. Admittedly, Arsenal have had their share of injuries; compounding that is their bench strength, which isn't nearly as good as that of Chelsea.

Can Chelsea repeat last season's feat by laying low the Ronaldinho-inspired Barcelona once again? Barcelona are themselves on a high in Spain and Ronaldinho has been sublime, and though he remains the talismanic figure for Barcelona, they are hardly a one-man show. Among others, they have one of the best young attacking talents in the world in the precocious Messi.

No prizes for guessing who I'll be rooting for - the longer Ronaldinho plays in the Champions League, the better. Plus, it'll be fun to hear what the abrasive Mourinho has to say if Chelsea bite the dust ;) But Chelsea aren't at the top of the Premier League for nothing. They are a very tough side to break down on any given day and have the quality at the back and up front to sustain their run. This one should be fun.

- NK

Let's move on, shall we?

I think most followers of Indian cricket would agree that the way Sourav Ganguly has been left out for the last test against Sri Lanka is bizarre. Various opinions have been proffered to as to the motives of the selectors, in particular the committee chairman Kiran More, as well as those of the coach. Some have even alluded to Rahul Dravid's involvement in a conspiracy (reminds me of Hillary Clinton's vast right-wing conspiracy theory). Anyhow, I'm not sure what or who it was exactly. Perhaps it was all orchestrated by Raj Singh Dungarpur - that's someone who gets my goat everytime he appears on TV and behaves as if he owns Indian cricket, so he gets my vote as the conspirator-in-chief. He was the Pawar camp's chief spokesperson to boot and seemed rabidly anti-Dalmiya, so he has all the credentials ;)

But seriously, I'm shocked by the over-reaction about it all. C'mon people, we need to lighten up and let go. Yes, I'm pissed off as well, but do we really need this to be discussed in the Parliament, at the taxpayers' expense? Our leaders already put a premium on their (not ours) time, remember? I'm not surprised when there is a lot of ire among people in Kolkata/Bengal or anywhere else for that matter, but are Kolkatans really so worried about this? Methinks they need to rethink their priorities. And Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Pranab Mukherjee and Somnath Chatterjee all need to rethink their priorities. We do have real life problems that are of far greater magnitude.

The last thing Indian cricket needs is for the selection to be reversed under political pressure (although those who advocate it may say that has already happened). Now that would be a disaster.

- NK

What a farce!

In the end, Kiran More and the selection committee didn't fool anyone. Their actions in the past few weeks have been as bizzarre as any in the annals of Indian cricket, even by our often-inglorious standards. First, Sourav Ganguly wasn't good enough to be in the one-day team. Fair enough, his personal form wasn't exactly great and the team had slipped badly in the past year. Then, miraculously, he was okay to make the cut for the tests. Well, that decision had a bad odour about it, but in any case, if Ganguly could regain his form, it couldn't be bad at all for team. Now, once again, Ganguly finds himself sidelined, for no apparent reason other than selectorial whims/cricket politics. More grist to the rumour mill. Great!

So what's the explanation from the venerable Mr.More this time? Youth and long term planning, of course. Whoa! What was he smoking? And what did he think the rest of the country was smoking? The selection committee's conduct over this whole affair has been as bad as that of the Kolkata crowd during the SA one-dayer. No excuses for either.

- NK

MindSqueeze - 7 : Answers

The Fortnightly Sports Quiz

1. Easy one to start with! Likely to be remembered more for his tantrums than his game; he reportedly once said “In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol. It was the worst 20 minutes of my life”. During his tenure with Los Angeles Aztecs, he scored 14 goals in 37 matches. He also played for Ford Open Prison team, when he was behind the bars during 1984 Christmas. Who am I talking about?

Ans: George Best

2. The idea of this sport was conceived by Newman Darby, but the instruments that he built for the game were inefficient. However, in 1968, Jim Drake and his friend Hoyle Schweitzer redesigned them and patented the same. It was recognized as an Olympic sport in 1984. Different classes of this sport that have been used in the Olympics games over the years are Lechner, Mistral One etc. Which sport am I talking about?

Ans: WindSurfing

3. Martina Navratilova made a comeback to the Grand Slams by competing in the 2004 French Open after a gap of 10 years. She lost to an Argentinean in the first round. Later that month, she became the oldest ever player to win a singles match in the open era when she defeated Catalina Castano in the first round of Wimbledon. However in the second round she lost to the same lady who defeated her in the French Open earlier. Identify her.

Ans: Gisela Dulko

4. This NBA team was originated as Buffalo Braves. Later when they moved to San Diego in 1978 they renamed their team after the famous sailing ships that passed through the city hundreds of years ago. Now they have moved to another city but retained their name. Which NBA team am I referring to?

Ans: LA Clippers

5. He started his career playing for BNR football team. During the Beighton Cup hockey tournament in 1946 the centre-half of the BNR First XI was injured. But the BNR Second XI (another team that participated in the tournament) refused to provide a replacement. Then Dickie Carr, who was the captain of the First XI, requested this footballer to pitch in and fill the gap in First XI. Later on he went on to become a Hockey legend. Who am I talking about?

Ans: Leslie Claudius

6. He was the first fighter from the Soviet block allowed to turn professional. In 1956, he became the first boxer to win three Olympic Gold medals when he beat the future world champion Jose Torres. In 1962, his country’s government revoked his permission to participate in profession fights. Who am I talking about?

Ans: Laszlo Papp of Hungary

7. Which athlete is nicknamed “The Maputo Express”?

Ans: Maria Mutola

8. This club was founded in 1905. During the initial years, due to lack of facilities at their ground they often used the local Haddock’s Fish and Chip shop as a place to get changed for games. They get their nickname from the corruption of the name “Haddock”. Identify the club whose anthem is the 1930 Billy Cotton number “When the Red, Red Robin Goes Bob-, bob- bobbin' along”.

Ans: Charlton Athletic FC (Nicknamed "Addicks").

9. Why are the names of Spyros Samaras and Kostis Palamas significant in the history of Olympic Games?

Ans: Olyimpics anthem lyrics were written by Palamas and it was composed by Samaras.

10. On 14th January every year, during the Makar Sankranti, what international festival is held at Ahmedabad?

Ans: International Kite Festival

11. The super-sub rule that has recently been introduced to the international cricket is nothing new to one of the Test playing nations. A cricketer turned administrator implemented this rule in one of the domestic tournaments of his country in 1991/92. Identify the person and the tournament.

Ans: Ali Bacher & Nissan Shield of SA.

12. In 1848, Queen Victoria authorized the creation of a "One Hundred Guinea Cup" of solid silver (134oz), 27" tall for a competition "open to all nations." This was the origin of which famous event?

Ans: America's Cup - Yachting

- Compiled by Saby

- MindSqueeze-8 will be published on 23rd December

Vick is exciting to watch

When Michael Vick led the Atlanta Falcons to the NFC Championship last season, he delighted not just die-hard Falcons fans, but even casual NFL fans like me (my knowledge of the game is slightly better than the average American's knowledge of cricket). Vick is a supreme athlete if nothing else, and his presence on the field is enough to pack the Georgia Dome or any other NFL arena. One of his touchdown runs last season, when he was completely upside down at one point, was an extraordinary feat of athleticism even for the NFL, which has some fleet receivers and running backs.

Quite a few football pundits (purists) rate the Mannings, Favres and Bradys higher than Vick and perhaps justifiably so, but none of them is quite as exciting as Vick. They're all great quarterbacks, but when you put them alongside Vick, they can appear quite pedestrian, given that Vick is quite unconventional. There is the odd Jimmy Johnson (who, it has to be said, knows what he's talking about) who refuses to accept Vick as a 'true' quarterback, but the fans could hardly care. Vick may not win too many rings, but then neither did Dan Marino (who I'm sure would be rated a pure QB), right?

The Falcons are struggling to get into the play-offs this season, and Vick hasn't done as well as last season, but watching him against the Saints Monday night was a delight as ever. To an NFL fan starved of action (it's not easy in India, with the time differences), a dose of Vick was a manna from heaven.

- NK

Paaji have to learn English

One of the reasons I was quite uninterested in the one-day series that India played against Sri Lanka and South Africa was that the whole thing was covered by our venerable own Doordarshan (assuming any non-Indians read this blog, that is the name of our state owned TV channel). The folks at DD sure know how to make money, and one suspects that is all they know, for the viewing experience is pretty cathartic, not a thought being wasted on making things easier on us souls. Of course, I fixed it all by turning on my Powerbook and playing my favourite JJ Cale numbers on iTunes, using the mute button to good effect. Cale seemed to put it better than Arun Lal or Sivaramakrishnan, even when he was singing about his tequila.

So along comes Zee Sports now, who supposedly secured the rights for this test series with a 'lightning bid', and now have something other than Santosh Trophy and Bundesliga games between Borussia Monchengladbach and Hertha Berlin to show for all the money that Subhash Chandra had to put into it. Well, you have to give them this - Zee are making an effort, however tame; and their picture quality doesn't involve making anyone feel they're on time travel back to the 1980's. It's another matter that Lal and Siva have also surfaced here (may be I'm missing a connection there) and there's the obligatory chick (why can't we find our own Tanya Aldreds or Sue Motts?). Meanwhile, Indian cricket audiences still yearn for a commentator who can put together coherent thoughts, in English or Hindi, while uttering something other than inanities (other than the old firm of Gavaskar, Bhogle and co). If only Zee had taken the same care in putting together their team that they had shown in lobbying governments...sigh! Until they do, we must wonder how on earth did Kapil become the brand ambassador for Rapidex. If it's any consolation, at least he's no loose cannon.

- NK

MindSqueeze - 7

The Fortnightly Sports Quiz

1. Easy one to start with! Likely to be remembered more for his tantrums than his game; he reportedly once said “In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol. It was the worst 20 minutes of my life”. During his tenure with Los Angeles Aztecs, he scored 14 goals in 37 matches. He also played for Ford Open Prison team, when he was behind the bars during 1984 Christmas. Who am I talking about?

2. The idea of this sport was conceived by Newman Darby, but the instruments that he built for the game were inefficient. However, in 1968, Jim Drake and his friend Hoyle Schweitzer redesigned them and patented the same. It was recognized as an Olympic sport in 1984. Different classes of this sport that have been used in the Olympics games over the years are Lechner, Mistral One etc. Which sport am I talking about?

3. Martina Navratilova made a comeback to the Grand Slams by competing in the 2004 French Open after a gap of 10 years. She lost to an Argentinean in the first round. Later that month, she became the oldest ever player to win a singles match in the open era when she defeated Catalina Castano in the first round of Wimbledon. However in the second round she lost to the same lady who defeated her in the French Open earlier. Identify her.

4. This NBA team was originated as Buffalo Braves. Later when they moved to San Diego in 1978 they renamed their team after the famous sailing ships that passed through the city hundreds of years ago. Now they have moved to another city but retained their name. Which NBA team am I referring to?

5. He started his career playing for BNR football team. During the Beighton Cup hockey tournament in 1946 the centre-half of the BNR First XI was injured. But the BNR Second XI (another team that participated in the tournament) refused to provide a replacement. Then Dickie Carr, who was the captain of the First XI, requested this footballer to pitch in and fill the gap in First XI. Later on he went on to become a Hockey legend. Who am I talking about?

6. He was the first fighter from the Soviet block allowed to turn professional. In 1956, he became the first boxer to win three Olympic Gold medals when he beat the future world champion Jose Torres. In 1962, his country’s government revoked his permission to participate in profession fights. Who am I talking about?

7. Which athlete is nicknamed “The Maputo Express”?

8. This club was founded in 1905. During the initial years, due to lack of facilities at their ground they often used the local Haddock’s Fish and Chip shop as a place to get changed for games. They get their nickname from the corruption of the name “Haddock”. Identify the club whose anthem is the 1930 Billy Cotton number “When the Red, Red Robin Goes Bob-, bob- bobbin' along”.

9. Why are the names of Spyros Samaras and Kostis Palamas significant in the history of Olympic Games?

10. On 14th January every year, during the Makar Sankranti, what international festival is held at Ahmedabad?

11. The super-sub rule that has recently been introduced to the international cricket is nothing new to one of the Test playing nations. A cricketer turned administrator implemented this rule in one of the domestic tournaments of his country in 1991/92. Identify the person and the tournament.

12. In 1848, Queen Victoria authorized the creation of a "One Hundred Guinea Cup" of solid silver (134oz), 27" tall for a competition "open to all nations." This was the origin of which famous event?

- Answers on 16th December

- Compiled by Saby

Can Colts emulate '72 Dolphins?

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts finally exorcised the ghost of New England this season, and it seems it was no coincidence. Even considering New England lost the services of some stellar performers this season, it was the one challenge that the Colts would have wanted to overcome, such has been the Patriots' domination of their AFC rivals. Last season's playoff loss seemed to be the worst of all those defeats, especially given Manning's record breaking season and the league's most feared offense.

Twelve games into the season and quite a few records added to their kitty, the one question every Colts fan would have is - can they go unbeaten? It's only been done once, if I remember correctly, and it is easy to see why, especially in the salary cap era when no one team could buy out all the stars they wanted. NFL is just such a tough league, the physical demands taking toll of a few teams every season. Just ask the Eagles - even without Owens, they would have been a decent team. But once McNabb was gone, their season has ground to a halt. The Colts' biggest challenge will come, not surprisingly, away from home at Jacksonville and Seattle, but mainly because those two are good teams. Seattle is red-hot right now. It will be interesting nevertheless. Is it finally the Colts' season?

- NK

Shamateurism at its worst

My first reaction to the news of the arrest of the East Bengal coach Subhash Bhowmick was one of befuddlement - it took a while to sink in. I wasn't listening to the news too keenly, so I thought it was bribe offered by a player desperate to make the side. And that led to some (wishful, as I was to discover later) lateral thinking - if players could afford bribes to the tune of Rs.150,000, they're probably not all that worse off; at the very least, they expect to make much more out of being in the first team. How wrong was I!

It turns out that (allegedly I might add) Mr.Bhowmick, in an all-too-familiar act, was in fact just trying to extort a businessman of neat change - in his capacity as an officer of the venerable Central Excise. That leaves me even more dumbfounded - that the coach of the leading side in the nation actually doubles up as a Central Excise superintendent! No wonder our football is in the situation that it is.

- NK

It's Ronaldinho, Mr.Wenger

It was in the quarter-final clash against England in the last world cup that I realized how good Ronaldinho was. He was then the young pretender, much talked and written about, but the world had not yet seen him in all his splendour. After several seasons showcasing his potential for PSG, Ronaldinho finally became the irresistible force he was expected to, last season. Entirely coincidentally, Barca's fortunes underwent a transformation, though it must be said Frank Rijkaard had something to do with it as well.

Barca were quite unlucky going out the way they did in the Champions League, losing by a whisker to Chelsea. But for many, they were the best in the field and there was no doubting who the best in Europe and possibly the world, was. Now vindication, nay confirmation, has come from all quarters. Watching Ronaldinho, Messi and company tear apart Real at the Bernabaeu was an awe inspiring sight, even as the football itself was sublime, quite the embodiment of the beautiful game. As much as I admire Thierry Henry, I have to say I disagree with Arsene Wenger's assessment of him as the world's best. Right now, no one - not even Zidane (who's obviously slowed down) - is better than Ronaldinho.

- NK