ARE BLOGS SELF-SERVING?

My blog is very important to me, I've had it for over three and a half years after all, it's chronicled my life during grad school and dating in New York City to being engaged in Los Angeles. Blogging is a source of refuge for me. So, I guess in that way it is self-serving.Also, it keeps me creative and up on the whole Web 2.o buzzword and that's advantageous for my job in public relations and my past career in journalism.Plus, I earn a few extra bucks from it via the ads on the left of the page. Emphasis though on the few--I'm not quitting my job anytime soon, it just supports my eBay habit really.So yes, it hurt when a friend told me she thought my blog was very self-promoting. Well, I don't mean it to be. I just try to share my adventures. My family and some of my friends especially like my blog because they can keep tabs on me and see what I'm up to. For others I think they like getting ideas for places to go and things to see, some free giveaways and a quick distraction.In the past I've received emails from strangers who said they like what I have to say or how I say it at least. I get a good amount of visitors and a few flattering email stalkers. So, in that regards my blog isn't completely self-serving, right? Hell, there have been plenty of times when I've wanted to just let it die away, but after this many years of documenting everything, I'm just too used to looking at things in two ways, stuff I can blog about and stuff I can't. As a result, my camera phone is never too far from reach, ready to capture just the right photo to go with the moment and to help illustrate my post so it's not just words like this one is. The fact that I'm blogging about a stupid comment that was made to hurt me, shows how addicted I am. I can't stop...don't want to. Thanks for reading.

IPL CHEERLEADERS ROARING!!!

The Indian Premier League (IPL) begins today evening only - less than six hours remain before Dravid's (and Mallya's, or should i have put it the other way round) Royal Challengers, egged on by the 'first ladies of football' take on King Khan's Kokata Knight Riders ( no prizes now for guessing which team Ekta Kapoor supports ) in the inaugural match of the inaugural Indian Premier League.
You can catch all IPL action live on SET MAX or if you are stuck in some godforsaken place where there is no live coverage of the league on TV, then i suggest you check this link out - This list created earlier should also serve as a good list of sites for http://www.moneystreet.weebly.com/ Here's the itinerary of the first few matches to get you started.
*****
Day, Date,Time - Team 1 vs Team 2 - Venue
Friday, 18 April, 7 pm - Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Bangalore
Saturday, 19 April, 3 pm - Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings - Mohali
Saturday, 19 April, 8 pm - Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals - Delhi
Sunday, 20 April, 3 pm - Mumbai Indians vs Bangalore Royal Challengers - Mumbai
Sunday, 20 April, 8 pm - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers - Kolkata
******
In case you are still in doubt, I am rooting for Delhi Daredevils. In case they fare as per expectation, I will switch to King Khan's Kolkata. What are your plans?

The BCCI's convoluted thinking

The BCCI's convoluted thinking A couple of months ago, the new BCCI administration caused a flutter when it announced that India would not participate in future editions of the Champions Trophy. In addition, it also objected to the ICC's plans for a Twenty20 World Cup. Both these actions were on the basis that the BCCI would not get any substantial revenues from events organized by the ICC, since the ICC has its own sponsorship/telecast deals for its events.The ICC yesterday announced that it had received bids/proposals for several events, including the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, the Women's World Cup and a few editions of the Champions Trophy. It has been apparent for a while now that there're two main contenders for the 2011 World Cup: A cartel of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka and the duo of Australia & New Zealand.Given that the BCCI honchos have often argued about ICC-owned events not being profitable for host countries, why did they go ahead with the bid for the 2011 World Cup in the first place? Surely it can't be their case that the World Cup is such a huge event and that it would automagically result in significant revenues aside from what the ICC would earn. From what I can infer, the only revenue a hosting country/board earns is the gate revenue, i.e. spectators at the ground. Sponsorships at the grounds, on television etc. are controlled by the ICC's deals with its official sponsors. Any violation of this would amount to ambush marketing. Gate revenue would obviously form a very insignificant portion from the proceeds, even if the tickets (and products sold inside the stadium) are priced at a high premium. The BCCI would also need to get a confirmation from the government in terms of a tax exemption from the Indian government for hosting the event.I can't see the logic behind the change of heart. Can you?

IPL GOT UNDERWAY!

The Indian Premier League got underway last week. While I haven't been able to watch games in their entirety, I've been able to watch some significant portions, which included some brilliant performances.I think the jury is still out on whether spectators (and TV audiences) will root for a specific city-based team. There're only 8 cities (and states) represented. So which team does a cricket fan in Kerala support? Will he/she go for the team with the maximum number of Malayalis? What about folks in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh or Madhya Pradesh? I'd come close to having dual allegiance, to the Chennai Super Kings and the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Yet, I find it hard to support only these teams and none else. Maybe there're several other people like me, who're more than happy to enjoy every game (as long as it is rivetting stuff), regardless of the teams in action.I'd anticipated that Hyderabad, Delhi and Punjab would be the 3 teams to beat, but turns out that Hyderabad's bowling resources are pretty scarce & unidimensional and Punjab isn't firing either. It's not as though the points table will continue to remain the way it is. There're bound to be changes as players move in & out and as the squads 'gel' better.In contrast to a lot of people who're hopping mad about this format of the game and the blurring line between sport and entertainment, I find it hard to be condescending of Twenty20! If anything, I am quite excited about it. I'm more than willing to give it a chance, including the cheer-leaders and film star appearances. I don't expect the film stars to turn out for every single game their team features in.Yes, there're definite ways to tweak it to make it a more level playing field between bat and ball, but that's a problem that exists in the 50-over format anyway. On this blog, we've touched on some suggestions earlier: Allowing only 6 players to bat in Twenty20 games (Steve Waugh said the same thing!) and increasing the per-bowler overs limit to 15 in ODIs or encourage wicket taking by allowing one extra over per wicket taken. Most of the ICC's rules are batsmen-oriented. Besides, what's the big deal about 11 players/batsmen or artificial stuff like 4 (or 10) overs per bowler?The one thing I've figured out over the past 2+ decades of following cricket, especially over the last decade, is that if you don't respect a form of the game, you're unlikely to do well in that format. England's administrators, selectors and players kept disrespecting one-day internationals and they've more than paid the price. As Scyld Berry points out in his Editor's Notes in the 2008 edition of the Wisden Almanack, other than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, England are the only Test-playing country never to have won a global one-day tournament.The beauty of following a tournament like the IPL is watching McCullum or Sehwag play some jaw-droppingly astonishing shots, Pollock plugging away ad nauseum ad infinitum, McGrath bowl a bouncer to Symonds after Symonds smacked him over mid-wicket, Warne showing us that he's still good enough to make it to the Australian team, Asif & McGrath combining for a seam-bowling master-class, etc.There's also the beauty of seeing people like Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman, Venugopala Rao, Sreesanth, etc. more or less appear like fish out of water in this format. I just don't understand how someone like Laxman can captain a Twenty20 side which has Afridi, Symonds, Gilchrist and Gibbs in it! If he weren't captain, his name would never be in a squad of 20!The other thing that has struck me is the quality of the fielding, especially from the Indians in the tournament. The likes of RP Singh, Munaf, Kumble, etc. are always going to look stupid, but as was the case with the Indian Cricket League, a lot of the Indian players (who haven't yet turned out in internationals) have fielded much better than I'd expected. Perhaps the contributing factors were the support staff made available to the teams and the peer-pressure that comes with fielding alongside Ponting, Symonds, Gibbs, Afridi, de Villiers, Dilshan, Yuvraj, Kaif, Raina, Rohit Sharma, etc.To me, there's no doubt that the IPL will be successful. What the BCCI and ICC need to do are:
Revoke the ban on the ICL and recognize that tournament.
Encourage team strategies to focus on ensuring that local players who've never played internationals (or haven't played enough of them) take upon themselves more responsibility. There are foreign players in the English county cricket system as well. The idea is that the domestic players don't just assume that the star recruit will do the job, because there maybe a few games where the star player is unavailable!
I haven't yet watched the games from the stadium, but it'd be awesome if the in-stadium facilities like food, drinks, toilets, seats, etc. were revamped totally to make the stadiums far more spectator-friendly than they are right now. Since the franchisees get a share of (or all of) the gate revenue, they really have an incentive to encourage more people to watch the games from the stadiums.
Figure out how on earth Sunil Gavaskar managed to get onto the SET MAX commentary team!
Labels: icc, india, indian cricket league, indian premier league, twenty20

What level of the ICC code of conduct has Ponting breached?

When asked about Harbhajan slapping Sreesanth, Ricky Ponting, hardly the type to let one go outside offstump, was quoted in the Courier Mail as saying
The (slapping) incident was him dealing with a guy that he has probably played 20 Tests with. After this latest issue in India, I think people should be making their own judgments about Harbhajan. He has again done something wrong.He then pointed out how Harbhajan had got away with a 50% fine despite being accused of a racist remark.
It certainly wasn't the outcome that we expected," he said. "He ended up being fined 50 per cent of his match fee. As it is I will cop a 20-30 per cent match fee fine most one-day games because I am behind in the over rates.Ponting's comment on the outcome of Judge Hansen's hearing is public criticism of a match-related event and the outcome of a related hearing. The ICC Code of conduct deals with such comments, and there are two types of penalties prescribed for breaches of the code.
Level 1 (Reprimand and/or upto 50% match fee fine): "Public criticism of, or inappropriate comment on a match related incident or match official"
Level 2 (50-100% match fee fine and/or 1 test/2 ODI ban): "Serious public criticism of, or inappropriate comment on a match related incident or match official."So, which one has Ponting breached and will he be hauled up?
Labels: harbhajan, icc, ponting, sreesanth

What level of the ICC code of conduct has Ponting breached?

When asked about Harbhajan slapping Sreesanth, Ricky Ponting, hardly the type to let one go outside offstump, was quoted in the Courier Mail as saying
The (slapping) incident was him dealing with a guy that he has probably played 20 Tests with. After this latest issue in India, I think people should be making their own judgments about Harbhajan. He has again done something wrong.He then pointed out how Harbhajan had got away with a 50% fine despite being accused of a racist remark.
It certainly wasn't the outcome that we expected," he said. "He ended up being fined 50 per cent of his match fee. As it is I will cop a 20-30 per cent match fee fine most one-day games because I am behind in the over rates.Ponting's comment on the outcome of Judge Hansen's hearing is public criticism of a match-related event and the outcome of a related hearing. The ICC Code of conduct deals with such comments, and there are two types of penalties prescribed for breaches of the code.
Level 1 (Reprimand and/or upto 50% match fee fine): "Public criticism of, or inappropriate comment on a match related incident or match official"
Level 2 (50-100% match fee fine and/or 1 test/2 ODI ban): "Serious public criticism of, or inappropriate comment on a match related incident or match official."So, which one has Ponting breached and will he be hauled up?
Labels: harbhajan, icc, ponting, sreesanth

Kanpur falls short of meeting ICC stipulations

Most heavy defeats result in feelings of great disappointment and misery but India's victory in Kanpur left us feeling only the disappointment, not the misery. There is too much for us to feel proud about over a long and relentless season and, besides, India outplayed us in extreme conditions and deserved their win.
South Africa have played 12 Test matches since October and have won eight of them. We have also won 16 out of 19 one-day matches and six out of eight Twenty20s. There is no disgrace in being beaten by India in our final match of the season.
Actually, it was a fabulous Test series with some outstanding cricket played by both sides. Although the pitch in Chennai was never going to produce a result, none of us will ever forget Viru's triple-century. Ahmedabad provided the best pitch (excuse my bias!) and I believe we produced one of South Africa's best Test performances since our return to international cricket.
As I said before the third Test, India gambled on the pitch and it worked for them. It was an extreme gamble which could easily have backfired and cost them their world ranking as number two behind Australia. But you have to admire a sportsman who is prepared to lose in order to win.
Clearly, after their Ahmedabad humiliation, India were never going to condone another 'good' pitch in Kanpur and it made sense to have a dry and cracked one in order to give Harbhajan as much assistance as possible. We had no complaints before the match and we have none after. I just wish we had managed another 50 runs in our first innings because then we might have had a great finish.
We leave India with many happy thoughts and memories. Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla have given the top order a feel of great stability while AB de Villiers has turned the corner and can now combine his dashing brilliance to reliable 'fighter' when we need him.
On the slightly less positive side was the venue. It is a shame that South Africa keep being scheduled to play in Kanpur. There are a number of ICC stipulations that apply to Test match venues and I'm afraid Kanpur falls short of meeting them.
When India travel to South Africa we regard the tourists as world leaders and deserving of the best we can offer. India always play at out best venues and nothing in the way of hospitality is spared. I have no desire to criticise the city, but it became very obvious to me that nobody seems to enjoy coming here – not the Indian team, the local media or anybody from the BCCI.
The life of a professional cricketer may appear to be a glamorous one, but it often requires nine months away from home in many years. It is essential to be able to 'move about' and 'get away' from your hotel room. That doesn't seem possible in Kanpur, never mind the practice and player facilities at the ground. I apologise sincerely if this offends Kanpurites, but I'm afraid this is amongst the least popular venues in international cricket.
But it was a thrilling Test match! (Gameplan)

TIED TEST ...!

Gavaskar and Srikkanth settled the nerves in the dressing room as they safely negotiated the new ball taken by McDermott & Reid but everyone knew the challenge was the spin from Mathew & Bright.
India lost Srikkanth (39) to be 55-1 but a century-partnership between the two stalwarts Gavaskar & Amarnath gave India succor and hope. Amarnath (51), like Srikkanth, fell to Mathews and then Bright, for the second time in the match, got Gavaskar (90). Gavaskar was batting with skill, perfection and concentration and his was the crucial wicket the Aussies wanted. In his illustrious career, a phase had come when he was bothered by the left-arm spinners.
In domestic cricket, Bedi, Goel & Co had discomfited him on some occasions but his ability and class overcome all challenges. Sadly for India, Bright got him in both the innings. At regular intervals midway through the afternoon, the Aussie spinner kept striking regular blows. Azhar (42), Pandit (39) and Kapil (one) succumbed.
India slid from 251-4 to 291-6 when the last recognized batsman, Pandit left. Australia were now sensing a win. Only Shastri stood calmly between them and victory. Chetan batted well again – in the only manner he knew, playing his shots. When he fell for 23, India needed 16 with three wickets in hand, with Shastri having More, Yadav and Maninder. Despite the odds having tilted back in India’s favour due to superb batting by the Indians on a spin friendly fifth day track, the Aussies did not give up. More fell lbw to Bright for 0 and Yadav was bowled by Bright for eight. India were four short of victory. Last man Maninder was in the company of Shastri. With scores level at 347, Shastri was 48 not out off 40 balls – three fours, two sixes.
Greg Mathews bowled to Maninder. A no ball, a wide, a bye, a leg bye, a stolen single and victory was India’s. But it wasn’t to be. Maninder got an off-break from Mathews on his pads and the Aussies chorused an appeal. Umpire Vikram Raju gave a close decision in favour of the bowling team and Australia escaped defeat. It was a tie- only the second in Test history- Australia 574-7 decl and 170-5 decl; India 397 & 347.
Whilst Australia were in front and in control four out of the five days in the match, India batted very well on the fifth day – both sides sere equally unhappy /happy with the results as both thought they could’ve won the game – Australia because they had their nose in front for most part of the game and India because they came so close to a win through a fine rearguard action. To that extent the result was a good one. Australia were probably more relieved as few teams would expect to get away when the opposition needed 16 with three wickets in hand and an established, well settled batsmen at one end.
There were many positives for both teams – Jones, Boon, Mathews and Bright for Australia; Kapil and Gavaskar for India but more importantly a team effort to come back from the jaws of defeat to the brink of victory.
Whilst Jones and Kapil shared the ‘man of the match’ award, spare a thought for Greg Mathews. Ten wickets (five in each innings), 44 and 27 not out and a catch, plus of course the conquering of nerves whilst bowling the last over, to ensure his team didn’t lose – and he didn’t get rewarded by the match referee.
Such is cricket.

Story of the tied test at CHENNAI

The chances of a 10-wicket haul by a bowler in an innings are as remote as a Test match ending in a tie. Both these instances have been recorded only twice in Test cricket and India have figured in both types of rare instances. Jim Laker’s 10-wicket haul and Anil Kumble’s all 10; Australia- West indies tied Test at Brisbane and the Madras tied Test between Australia & India.
The Madras Test was played in the oppressive heat and humidity of mid September at the Chidambaram Stadium. Australia, under Allan Border were regrouping after the retirements of Lillee, Marsh and Chappell, and was a side short of international experience. On the other hand, through Gavaskar, Kapil, Amarnath, Azhar, Shastri and Srikkanth had a wealth of Test experience.
Border won the toss and decided to bat first on a good batting wicket, David Boon and Geoff Marsh gave a good start to Australia and had seen off the new-ball attack of Kapil and Chetan Sharma. Shivlal Yadav, the off-spinner, got rid of Marsh (22), but Boon and Dean Jones got entrenched against the three spinners (Yadav, Maninder and Shastri) and the two quick men (Kapil and Chetan). Australia ended the day 225/1. It had been a long, arduous day for the Indians and though the Australians batted slowly, the honour of the first day belonged to them.
The second day offered no respite to the Indians. Dean Jones was magnificent; sapped by heat and sweat, racked by vomiting, retching, cramps and dehydration, encouraged, cajoled and prodded by his captain Alan Border, Jones played a glorious, stroke-filled innings of 210 off 330 balls (27 fours and two sixes) and with Boon (122) and Border (106) also getting into three figures, the Aussies declared at 574-7. Yadav bowled nearly 50 overs to return the best figures for India – 4-142, Maninder went for 135 and was wicket-less whilst Shastri got just 1-161.
India lost Gavaskar (eight), early to the spin of Mathews & ‘Jimmy ‘Amarnath was run out soon after and when the swash buckling knock by Srikkanth 53 off 62 balls (nine fours and one six ) was ended by Mathews, India were reeling at 65-3. Azhar & Shastri steadied the ship putting on a 77-run partnership before Ray Bright ended the stroke filled 50-run knock (64 balls, eight fours) of Azharuddin. Chand,rakant Pandit playing the match purely as a batsman (More kept wickets) gave Shastri some support but both became victims of Greg Mathews, the bohemian, quick off-spinner who wore ear-rings and dyed his hair in various hues. India were struggling to avoid the follow-on, but situations such as these brought the best out of the Indian captain, Kapil Dev. Recall his innings in the World Cup in England when India were 17-5 against Zimbabwe or his assault on Eddie Hemmings in a Test in England when India were trying to avoid the follow on.
Madras has always seen a few vintage performances by Kapil with bat and ball. The crowd saw it through his bat on the third day of this Test as well as he flayed the Aussie bowling (McDermott, Reid, Waugh, Bright and Mathews) to all parts of the stadium hitting 21 fours in his 138-ball knock of 119 and was instrumental in India avoiding the follow-on. Receiving good support from Chetan Sharma (30) and Shivlal Yadav (19), Kapil was last out as India ended at 397,177 runs behind Australia on the fourth day.
Despite Kapil’s heroics, the match had gone Australia’s way.Although this Australian side was young and had just 140 Tests between them, they were a talented, battle-hardened lot. Realizing that they had a great chance to force a win on a fifth day wicket aiding spin, they went for quick runs in their second knock and declared at 170-5 made in 49 overs.
India, on the fifth day, were left to score 348 to win in 87 overs on a wearing pitch with the Aussies on psychological high as they had dominated the proceeding on the first four days of the match. It was a bold move orchestrated by the Aussie skipper, no doubt, goaded by the coach, Bob Simpson.

JACQUES
KALLIS
Congratulations to India. We were outplayed and a drawn series is probably a fair result, though I’m sure we’d all like another Test match to settle the result one way or the other! We still back ourselves to perform in all conditions and our season, which started in Karachi in October, has shown that we are able of adapting with two wins and a draw on the subcontinent as well as two wins at home.


Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel have not played in India before and, with age on their side, South Africa will be even better placed to bid for a series win next time we return here. I’m not sure when that will be, but I want another crack! Hopefully we can avoid Kanpur next time. Two Tests here are enough!


It is extremely hard for a touring team to win here as India’s record of losing just two series in the last 20 years shows. At least I was a part of the South African team in 2000 that managed that feat so I know how good and rewarding it feels. Hopefully I will still be around for one last chance to do it again in a few years. Perhaps I’ll be bowling off-spin by then!


There has been so much talk about the pitch that I am reluctant to add to the debate, if it is a debate. I would imagine that, with India having won and squared the series, the argument should be pretty much over. It was a gamble to order such a poor wicket and it could easily have backfired. If it had, then the debate would be open, but the gamble worked.


I am a traditionalist when it comes to pitches and I believe that the surface for a Test match should have something for everybody. Some pace and movement for the quick bowlers, good batting conditions in the middle and then help for the spinners on the last two days.


Every South African team I have been a part of has aimed to be the best team in the world and, in order to achieve that, we have always known that the ability to play in all conditions around the world is essential.


Like India, we have been pretty dominant at home and have only lost series to Australia on our own turf. But we have also been competitive away from home beating everyone (apart from Australia!) at some point.


India should be aiming for the number one spot, too, but they will need to improve on ‘good’ piches. The only way to do that, of course, is to play more games on ‘good’ pitches. I’m sure that is a target that Gary Kirsten will have in his sights.


As far as many of us are concerned now, it’s a question of getting back to South Africa as soon as possible to play in our domestic Twenty20 competition before returning to play in the IPL. I’ll be teaming up with Dale and Mark Boucher under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy in Bangalore.


We have two days to absorb the result here and then concentrate once again. I’ll share my IPL thoughts with you before we leave!


(Hawkeye Communications / Chivach Sports)

ANOTHER HUMILATING LOSS OF UNDER FIRE..BANGLORE

Mohali: It could not have gone worse for Bangalore. With Rahul Dravid's men facing the heat from all corners, a nine-wicket thrashing by Mohali in game 34 of the Indian Premier League here on Monday meant that Bangalore's run in the competition is now bordering on humiliation.
Bangalore's meager 143-run total was never going to be challenging enough but Shaun Marsh's blistering 51-ball knock handed out an embarrassing defeat to the visitors as Mohali galloped to their target in the 16th over.
In their previous encounter too, Mohali had cantered home, drubbing Bangalore by six wickets at the Chinnaswamy stadium one week ago.
On a decent pitch, the Bangalore batsmen showed momentary sparks but it never came together for them. Virat Kohli and Misbah-ul-Haq flowed for a brief period while Mark Boucher and Dravid displayed grit but it was never going to be enough.
It was the combination of Indian bowlers and Aussie batsmen, which worked like a charm for Mohali. After S Sreesanth (3-29) and company restricted Bangalore to 143-8, the Aussie trio of Marsh, James Hopes and Luke Pomersbach flayed the bowlers to take Mohali to the top of the points table below Jaipur.
The impressive Marsh brought up another half-century as he smashed the deflated Bangalore attack to all corners of the ground, bludgeoning nine boundaries and two sixes in his unbeaten 74. He, along with Hopes, took the home side off to a steady start before Hopes departed for 27.
In a surprise move, Pomersbach was sent at number three and in his first game in the tournament, he blazed an unbeaten 24-ball 34, which included three boundaries and two sixes.
Pomersbach and Marsh added an unbroken 112-run stand in less than 10 overs as the duo took the Bangalore bowling to the cleaners. Marsh was particularly severe on the visitors spearhead, Dale Steyn, pounding him ruthlessly for 33 runs in his two overs.
Earlier, Mohali bowlers refused to give an inch to Bangalore as the visitors failed to get any momentum going for a sizable passage. Regular wickets pegged them back and despite cameos by Misbah-ul-Haq and Virat Kohli and some solid rearguard action by skipper Dravid and Mark Boucher, the beleaguered Bangalore team never had control over the proceedings in the middle.

CHENNAI SITUATION NOT DO OR DIE!

The last week has seen us play three games, and we have not been able to win a single one. Of the three, the first loss was against the Delhi Daredevils, and that was entirely due to the magnificent innings played by Virender Sehwag.
Thereafter, we have had unsuccessful outings against Rajasthan Royals and the Deccan Chargers. In both these games, we lost too many wickets up front, and since this format gives you no time to recover from a poor start, we lost the game as soon as we lost wickets in the first six overs. A winning total after a poor start might happen in one out of 60 games, but most often it means that the team will not have enough on the board.
The Twenty20 format is all about keeping wickets in hand and all teams have to plan accordingly. It might be a shortcoming in the format, but every format does have its negatives and positives, so it's important that the team's strategy factors in the lack of recovery time.
Among the teams that we have played against, the Rajasthan Royals looked like a side that is really executing their plans well. The game had a special experience in store for me because I got to face Shane Warne for the first time.
Looking ahead, we meet the Delhi team once again. Things might be a little difficult for Delhi this time, because the conditions are quite different. The wicket at Chepauk offered a lot of bounce and couple of balls really took off when they were batting. The wicket in Delhi might be better for us, but it is important for us to stick to our plans. We must bowl with discipline and make the batsmen take risks, and when we bat we must not give wickets to Delhi's opening bowlers.
At present, we are really learning the value of having four wins in the bank. We plan a few experiments with the batting and will be trying a slightly new combination as well. All this is possible because we do have a few wins on our side, and the situation is not do-or-die just yet.
It's when a side is losing that the team spirit and togetherness is really tested, and we are coping pretty well at the moment. We have plenty of team activities and have been enjoying our time together. Most importantly, we are really enjoying our cricket, which helps in such times.
For me personally, I am happy with the way I am keeping to Muthiah Muralitharan now. It was a little difficult in the first few games, especially under the lights, but I have started picking his doosra quite well now.
At present, I am focusing on cricket and not on singing, and contrary to reports I have not recorded our team song in Hindi. I am a bathroom singer, and plan to keep it that way for the time being. (Gameplan)

BCCI is to be blamed for suproting ''wrong doing'' of Harbhajan!

BCCI is to be blamed for suproting ''wrong doing'' of Harbhajan during - tour Australia.That has encouraged him and the result is infront of every one. Sandeep Patil''s ''suggestion'' is nothing but a ''joke''.Right time for BCCI to set the record straight and ensure examplary punishment to Harbhajan.For Gods''s sake, do not project these ''players'' as ''Celebrities'' which makes them feel as ''stars'' and not cricket players inturn that impacts their game and all stake holders are affected.Restraint on the part of Electrnic Media to project ''these stars''as ''Super Heroes'' and not ''players'' would be a right and helping step !

How can Harbhajan be punished twice?

Amidst the Indian Premier League extravaganza, there was a disturbing news item that concerned the image of Indian cricket_the warning from the International Cricket Council regarding the Green Park pitch at Kanpur where India overwhelmed South Africa inside three days.
In these very columns I had said that a bad pitch produces bad cricket and the one at Green Park could not have been termed a Test wicket. From what I had read, the captain of the Indian team for that Test, M. S. Dhoni, had gifted some money to the curator for preparing a pitch that suited the home team. What was good for Dhoni was unacceptable for the ICC, and of course for the majority of the cricket fraternity.
I am not surprised by the letter that the ICC dashed off following a complaint by the Match Referee, Roshan Mahanama, that the pitch was bad advertisement for Test cricket. It was. And then the ICC is said to have suggested that sporting pitches be prepared in future. Now I want to know what makes a sporting pitch!
If what I have gathered from my experience is true, then a sporting is one that helps both batsmen and bowlers. It is a pitch that tests the skills of a batsman and a bowler. That is why it is called Test cricket, the highest form of the game. By the same yardstick, I would expect the best batsmen and the best bowlers to adapt themselves to the pitch.
You encounter a pitch that assists the spinners with the ball turning a lot and you also come across a pitch where the ball bounces and hastens off the surface. Such pitches test your technique and of course the character to adapt and fight. As an international cricketer, one has to be prepared to play on all kinds of pitches.
Now the conditions also differ from country to country. The weather can be so hostile in places like New Zealand and England. You not only face bounce and swing but also chilling conditions. I have known instances when our bowlers have struggled to grip the ball properly because of the severe cold. But I have not known them to grumble.

IPL, THER INDIAN PUNCH

What was that, what Winston Churchill said, about the British effort during World War II? "Blood, sweat, toil and tears". Perfect for the Indian Premier League it seems. Toil is understandable, while the perfect timing of the tournament, in the middle of summer, ensures sweat. Blood we saw when Dominic Thornley and Karan Goel got whacked on their faces. Tears we saw when S. Sreesanth got whacked on his. Some foresighted journalist had recently written in a column that, given the amount of money and stakes involved....

I overestimated the Indian team's batting 'prowess' - I thought they'd last till the 4th day at least. Its coming to close to two decades of following Indian cricket, but it still manages to surprise me. Not in terms of predictability, be it in the kinds of shots played to get out, or the amazing way in which we invariably play our best when there is a final around the corner. The surprise comes in the amazingly erratic form this side has. When this side returned from Australia,..

The merry mix of Mallya’s men

In today's day and time, democracy seems to be the in thing, even when it comes to corporate decisions and responsibilities. Many a corporate honcho has gushed eloquent about how he is "one of the men". "You are the experts," they thunder, "you have a free hand in running the show. I'm just the man who signs the cheques."That's exactly what happened with the Bangalore Royal Challengers and Dr. Vijay Mallya. He thought he had hired the best in the business, and given them a free hand when it comes to creating the Bangalore team, brand, and ensuing success.Well, 'hired' may not be quite the right word. It was more like he told his UB head honchos, "ok boys, I'm pumping in the money, you go in and find the best in the business, and make this look good". He thought, and with some justification, that he had done the right thing.But the irony about cricket is, that everyone in this country thinks he knows it the best, and sadly, not even 10 per cent of these believers actually have the faintest clue about the game, or who the experts are. So when the UB big guns were posed with this problem, they turned to the people they know, from a game they know - golf.Charu Sharma, over the past few years, has been consistently more visible on the golf course than any cricket field. In any case, he never was an 'expert' in cricket, he was an anchor, and by definition, the anchor is the person who knows the least about the game, and depends largely on his earpiece and teleprompter to know what to ask, and who to ask.But the UB boys had seen Sharma on TV, even in a cricket programme! So they caught him (ten-to-one, on a golf course), and asked him, "boss, what to do?" Sharma's answer must have been predictable - "hire me, I'll sort things out." Sharma is a pretty decent Master of Ceremonies for a golf tournament, and an anchor for cricket. He is not an 'expert'.Also, given that Rahul Dravid was the icon player for Bangalore, do you seriously think Sharma would go against the former India skipper when it came to choosing players? Did Mallya overrule Dravid? As we understand, Mallya sacked Sharma as the CEO (that was what he was) did not convey the team owner's ire about team selection to the captain, coach and others. Basically, he wanted Sharma to go and yell at Dravid.What Mallya didn't realise, is that Sharma didn't have the credentials to question Dravid or Martin Crowe (the Chief Cricket Officer).Also, Mallya is now complaining about how Dravid and Sharma ignored him about what players to hire. Please. Mallya owns the company, and as far as we understand, he gave them total freedom about choosing the players. It was only after his friends called it a Test team, did Mallya realise that he didn't have the best team. So basically, he didn't know whom to choose, when they were chosen.So it was a merry mix. Mallya deputised his big guns to hire the best, since he didn't really know. They hired Sharma, since they didn't really know. Sharma didn't challenge Rahul Dravid, since he didn't really know. Mallya didn't get the players he wanted, but he didn't know who they were, did he?The sum total of it all is there for all to see. We can almost see Mallya fuming, but not being able to do much when Dravid pouts. We have already seen Sharma doing the martyr act. What we didn't actually see is the UB boys getting their ears pinned back by the boss, in his plush office. They actually are the real culprits. But they run a business much larger than cricket.So someone had to be the fall guy. And Charu Sharma was perfect.

Champions League Final

Well it is going down to the wire at the top and bottom of the Premiership and apart from the upcoming Champions League Final this will be the final week of predicting every Premiership and Champions league game since October last year.
Birmingham v Blackburn
Birmingham -0.5 goals @ 2.14/2.17
Middlesbrough v Man City
Middlesbrough -0.5 goals @ 2.13/2.18
Portsmouth v Fulham
Portsmouth +0.5 goals @ 1.79/1.84
Chelsea v Bolton
Chelsea -2 goals @ 2.01/2.07
Derby v Reading
Derby +1 goal @ 2.08/2.14
Everton v Newcastle
Everton -0.5 goals @ 1.89/1.91
Spurs v Liverpool
Liverpool +0 goals @ 1.92/1.99
Sunderland v Arsenal
Arsenal – 0.5 goals @ 1.90/1.92
West Ham v Aston Villa
Aston Villa +0 goals @ 1.59/1.69
Wigan v Man Utd
Wigan +2 goals @ 1.58/1.64
At the top of the table I expect both teams to win. However, it may be late on in the afternoon before we know if Manchester United will retain their title. The odds on them are ludicrous and there has to be some value in Wigan +2 goals @ 1.58/1.64.
At the other end of the table of the 3 teams I expect Birmingham to have the best of it as they are at home against a side with nothing to play for. Due to Readings inability to score away from home I don’t think Derby are too badly priced at 2.04 -1 goal.
The game that really interests me is Portsmouth v Fulham with its various factors. With there being so much money in the Premiership a Portsmouth victory could net them over £2 million depending on league position at +0.5 goals they are worth consideration but beware of the team they send out with next weeks FA Cup final in mind.
Liverpool and Aston villa both have very good away form and I am taking both teams off scratch.
Very difficult to sum up the Middlesbrough v Man City game and the Sunderland v Arsenal matches because again there is very little to play for.
Finally my bet of the weekend would have to be Everton at home to Newcastle. Everton have an excellent home record to all but the big four clubs and I fancy them to secure a win to guarantee them a European slot.

Sergio a Lay in the Players Championship Golf

Well this weekend sees the final round of Premiership matches and it looks like being an exciting finale both top and bottom of the table.
Tomorrow I will be previewing Sundays matches. As stated before next year I am going to go against conventional thought and see what happens. One of my colleagues said that they didn’t see the point of being completely contrarian as you will be just suggesting outlandish bets, but as I explained the Asian handicap set up does not allow you to do that.
Anyway I shall be back tomorrow morning with Sundays selections.
Just to mention I Layed Sergio Garcia in the golf at 6.4 and will see how this progresses in my opinion he seems to have forgotten how to win and by the end of this evening I anticipate there will be numerous players still in contention

A YEAR ON...

Trade On Sports is now coming up to being a year old and here I would just like to highlight what has been achieved so far and what we will be endeavouring to do in the future.
On Trade On Cricket we have now decided to mainly concentrate on the test matches as we feel these games are far easier to follow and indeed profit by. Although good plans can be made for the Twenty20 matches we are finding that on many occasion the odds required to trade are simply not being hit and with the pace of the game In-Play advice is virtually impossible. This is not the case though with test match cricket and we anticipate this will be far more profitable. We have therefore decided to charge £5 a test match starting with the England v New Zealand test next week. This approach leads to far more flexibility than the monthly fee. Eventually I would like Trade On Cricket to become part of the Trade On Sports monthly service.
Some very good trends and strategies have come from the newsletters particularly in the tennis and over the next few months I intend to have a large study of the NBA markets.
Once this study is done and strategies formulated I would like to start a forum where certain matches are highlighted and are followed in the trading room. This allows people to gain confidence in the strategy and also allows for further learning. I also intend to do this with the recently formulated tennis strategies.
So in summary I am working towards a monthly membership that would include the Newsletter, Access to the Trade On Cricket forum, An educational forum to follow tennis and NBA matches that come within our parameters as well as trading tips on football and possibly horse racing. As with all the services it will remain competitively priced and well within the reach of the average working man.
I have now been trading on Betfair for nearly 4 years and have seriously studied the markets over the past year. Although there are many similarities with the financial markets I believe in certain situations these markets can and do offer far more substantial returns. By seeking low risk, low odds laying scenarios, your risk can be simply contained without the need for complex stop losses and the chance of profit far outweighing the downside. And as opposed to the financial markets you are looking at a subject that is relatively easy to understand and whose results are not affected by bad or good news or the whims and opinions of others.

Chennai v Deccan

Chennai v Deccan(14:30 GMT)Venue:MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai................Star packed teams, Tournament favourites at start, having real Twenty20 players etc. quoted for both teams before start of the tournament. Yes all these statements are true but still they are struggling in this tournament in fact Deccan at the bottom of the points table and Chennai after good start (they won 4 in row) now at 4th place.Chennai 3 main foreign players are gone to perform their national duties so there performance is acceptable but Deccan doing very bad since start.Anyway a great high scoring contest is expected today and hopefully not a one sided match like last 2 matches.Main points:1. Ground/pitch:High scoring match is expected and below 180 score may prove not enough to defend.2. Teams:>ChennaiFleming , Morkel , Dhoni , M Hussey , Vidyut , Muralidharan and SK Raina are key players. Have batting depth but poor performance in last 2 games.>DeccanGilchrist , Gibbs , Afridi , R Sharma and S Styris are key players. Explosive batting lineup but failed to perform collectively so far.3.Early prices and market mood.Deccan favourites at 1.78 presently.It should be evens imo but as always market may have some reasons. Chennai playing at home ground which is a plus factor to them. Market mood is presently with Deccan but this is the match in which we may see swing in that on both sides inplay. .................Strategy for match:Almost equal teams are playing so there may be many flip flops in match especially when pitch is good for batting. Means both teams may traded at 1.4x at some stage.Also high scoring match is possible so the team who will bat first the is most likely winner of this match.Well main strategy is to batting team around 1.4x-1.5x if comes early in first innings, because at innings break even on 200 score odds are not going to be less than 1.4x because of the batting strength on paper of both sides. Also plan is to lay but small bowling team @1.4x if comes in first 10 overs of the 1st innings because both sides have batting depth. But before lay there should be some score on the board..................Predicted target odds & 1st innings plan:(A) If Chennai bat first:230 1.1x210 1.3x190 1.7x170 2.4x150 4.2x130 7.6x110 15*All are Chennai odds.Plan If Chennai bat first:1.Lay Deccan 100@1.4x if comes in 1st 10 overs upto 3 wickets but score 50+ because if batting collapse them there may be some chance to trade out. (Always prefer low stakes while laying bowling team because if batting collapse then loss can be minimum)Green up on +20-30 ticks but more on Deccan.Stop loss :Standard stop loss is 8-10 ticks but in Twenty20 it usually hit very early so try to back at same odds if no profit in 4-5 overs or take stop loss 10-14 ticks if it looks batting is difficult at this wicket.2.Lay Chennai50@1.8x50@1.6x100@1.4xif comes in 1st 10 overs.Back plan is such to take equal profit after any lay or combined lays.Stop loss :Average odds going to belay 200@1.5x ChennaiIf you see 200+ score is possible then consider trade out at same odds around 12-15 overs or take 10-14 ticks stop loss at that time if no profit.3.Lay Chennai 200@1.4x if comes in 10-15 overs after 3 wickets and runrate below 9.Stop loss at innings break on available odds....................(B) If Deccan bat first:230 1.1x210 1.2x190 1.4x170 1.7x150 3.6x130 6.2x110 12*All are Deccan odds.Plan If Deccan bat first:*Plan is almost same as Chennai innings and only change in odds range.1.Lay Chennai 100@1.5x if comes in 1st 10 overs upto 3 wickets but score 60+ because if batting collapse them there may be some chance to trade out.Green up on +20-30 ticks but more on Deccan.Stop loss 12-16 ticks.2.Lay Deccan50@1.4x50@1.3x100@1.2xif comes in 1st 10 overs.Back plan is such to take equal profit after any lay or combined lays.Stop loss :Average odds going to belay 200@1.3x DeccanSo either try to take stop loss around same odds in 10-15 overs or take 6-8 ticks stop loss.3.Lay Deccan 200@1.14 if comes anytime in 1st innings because imo upto 230 odds are not going to less than 1.12Back plan 120% above 10-15 ticks and stop loss on available odds at innings break.All the best.Dip