Ministry of Silly Words

India have finally won their first test in South Africa. And if things keep going this smooth, India should take their first series victory in South Africa. A damn good performance by the test team, once castigated for its more than terrible overseas performance. Headingley, Adelaide, Jamaica, and now Johannesburg have become important places. I’m happy that we are winning test matches because I believe it is in test matches that true cricket is being tested/honed/displayed. One day matches are good for kicks but in the end it’s just an extended 20-20 match, to put it, possibly, in a fresher perspective. All and sundry can hit form and do well with a bit of luck. And luck sure does play what can be a significant role in ODI and 20-20 matches. They’re more of a batsman’s game. Whereas test cricket is a bowler’s game. The only way to win is bowl out the opposition atleast once. The consistency of the bowler is tested; and the perseverance and determination of the batsman is tested. Test cricket is just what the name suggests. It’s a real test of the cricketing skills overall. You can play badly and still manage to sneak in a win in ODIs; but this doesn’t happen in tests, if so only very rarely.

Now what I’m getting at with all this, is that I’ve heard one and all [yeah including the commentators]  rave about what a remarkable turnaround this has been; following the disastrous one day series. What a comeback! What a revival! and so on and so forth..

Herein lies my point. As a one day team, we are probably no better now than we were just a couple of weeks back. That is to say, if we were to play a one day match now, there’s a good chance we’d get thrashed again. Of course, I’m not saying it’ll happen, but the point here is that one-day performance does not really translate into tests, and vice versa. The two forms of the game require a different set of skills, tactics, and fitness levels. We never really had any major problems in tests. We are winning a fair number of tests and are in fairly good, consistent form. The same is not true in one dayers. We had a terrible run at the Champions trophy which continued in this series. As a one day team, we still have several issues to sort out. We are not yet ready for the world cup. This test win does not necessarily mean a great improvement in one day performance. The game doesn’t work like that.

That said, India’s one day form ought to get better. This one of the worst slumps we’ve had in years. One would certainly hope that things can only get better from here, especially in light of the ever-so-closely-looming world cup.

Mick Jagger got it right when he called McGrath a bastard. I know just what he needs. He needs Sreesanth. You dare him to mouth at Sreesanth. Andre Nel did, yesterday, and found out that Sreesanth was quite enjoying himself out there. Can’t blame him though. Nel was asking for it.

Man..England blew it. They lost it right when they let Gilchrist get into his rampage. A hundred runs prevented from his bat would have made a huge difference, especially considering the way England played the better part of the second innings. I watched the whole of Ian Bell and Alastair Cook’s 170 run gritty partnership. And I can tell you, had the target been 400-odd, it would have been a much different game. 557 is quite on the other side of impossible, and that has an effect on the minds of the chasers. And with England, probably more than any other team, that’s going to make a big difference. That they got to 350 with such an impossible total to chase down and with enormous pressure of losing the Ashes, suggests that they were well capable of a win had the target been cut down by 100-150 runs or so. England’s second innings was one of grit, not so much of flamboyant brilliance or anything [except for some brilliant shots by Flintoff in the morning]. The “Ashes moment” was effectively sealed when Warne, being the super-human that he is, got Flintoff. After then it was only a matter of timne before the inevitable happened. Once again, Kevin Pietersen was left at the crease with 60 and unbeaten. He must be feeling the worst.

Australia have the services of four super-humans [They can't be normal human beings, c'mon] in the form of Ponting, Hussey, Warne and McGrath and clearly thrashed England badly in the series. They won’t give ground. Obviously they’ll go for a whitewash, but England have pride to play for, and I for one will be hoping they win atleast one.

I’m disappointed, pissed, and angry at England. They should have taken the second test, and saved the third. But I’ll be hoping they’ll win atleast one of the last two, all the same.

All is not dark though. I’m getting ready to celebrate India’s inevitable win later today. We need to take 5 more wickets, and they need to get to 400 runs. The latter is pretty much an impossibility in the kind of wicket at the Wanderers. We have two whole days to get 5 wickets. I’m betting we need just one session. It’ll be a well deserved win. More later.

The first India – South Africa test match begins tomorrow. After the nightmarish one day series whitewash, made worse by the complete lack of form of the batsmen (except maybe Dravid and Dhoni), one would think a comeback of sorts is due. And I don’t think it’s foolish to expect one either. The current Indian batting lineup is superb in terms of raw talent, and not half bad either in terms of experience either (Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman, Sehwag). It’s essentially the same “fabled Indian middle order” that was not too long ago considered one of the strongest in the world. It is really sad, in this light that we go into this series as underdogs and with no considerable momentum. The one day drubbing is past, and tests are much different games. The key is to play sensibly and not try too many things. Sehwag and Sachin must at any cost regain their form and confidence respectively. Ganguly must try to play through the initial phase of short pitched deliveries that will no doubt be hurled at him. Laxman needs to hang in there and get in the groove. Dravid (it would be unfair to ask too much of him) needs just to keep a cool head. It is possible that the problems plaguing the Indian batting may be overcome in a single, long innings where all the key players spend time in the middle and get into some kind of form. It’s not really a far cry either. Once the Indian batsmen hit some kind of form and are able to dictate the flow of the match (as they are very well capable of), then we shall more than make up for the one day series debacle. The bowlers are hitherto pretty much doing their bit satisfactorily, although some fine-tuning is definitely in order, especially with Pathan. It’s just the batting that has to make a complete turnaround. And we are more than capable of acheiving that.

It’s time to support the team afresh, now when they need it the most, rather than give up hope in the light of the one day series. Redemption is due.

Yup. He might as well scope out a good retirement home, find a quiet comfortable job and take rest. Monty Panesar (anagram : Parmesan Tony) is in town. The first seven balls he bowled were enough for me to base a reasonable prediction that he has a long and bright future. Boy, can he turn the ball! The way he bowled Langer in his seventh ball was a rocker. The first Englishman to get a 5 wicket haul at the WACA, Perth in his ashes debut. Watch out for him.

PS : Watch out though. If Monty Panesar can get the ball to turnso much, then Warne has the potential to land the ball at the boundary and turn it back to the stumps.