Has the fizz gone out of the Aussies!

30th Jan 2009 today Australia lost the last match of the 5 match ODI series against South Africa. They have lost their top ODI ranking too. So is it the beginning of the end of Australian dominance in all forms of the game. I say yes the fizz has really gone out.
A lot of dis credit has to go to the Aussie selectors. Their idea of nurturing a player till they think he is fit to play internationals has back fired. though it was the same policy which was admired across the globe some time back. Reason no. 1 is real lack of young blood. None of the Aussie debutante's since last year have impressed me as the same ruthless Aussie player of the yore. say except for may be Shaun Marsh in whom i see real potential. It beats why he don't deserve a place in the test side too. Reason No.2 a weak bowling attack(ODI) Brett Lee burnt out, Mitchell Johnson alone cannot make them win matches. For spinner they have excuses only. Nathan Bracken is the only bowler who deserves respect in ODIs.

NW Bracken
BW Hilfenhaus
MG Johnson
JR Hopes
MJ Clarke
DJ Hussey
These were the bowlers used by Australia in this match, show me one name which will break into an India or South African cricket team except for Bracken and Johnson. Where have all the bowlers gone. I say search your entire continent and come up with bowlers who can win you matches or else forget regaining your dominance in world cricket.

SE Marsh- needs to show more consistency as mentioned above he has potential
DA Warner- Too early to say personally I don't think he will last.
RT Ponting- A swallow doesn't make a summer needs to do more.. may be he is a spent force
MJ Clarke- Arise awake finish off matches
MEK Hussey- What happened to Mr. Cricket? dependability reducing day by day
DJ Hussey- bits and pieces player who will remain so
BJ Haddin-many tout him to be a good batsmen ... a pale shadow of Adam
JR Hopes- hopefully he can be a real all rounder.. not yet though
Induct fresh blood .. give ultimatum perish or perform dictum to old war horses.. do what ever it takes but i say bring back the Magical Aussies who never knew how to lose .. cause without them its a bit boring on the cricket field... losing is OK but without a fight is simply not Aussie.. rekindle your ruthlessness and let the others catch up with you.. all the best to the yellow jerseys.

Note- clicking on highlighted players name will take you to the palyer profile of www.cricinfo.com. My many thanks to them for their awesome site.

WAGs of cricket

We all know Victoria Beckham as the wife of english foot baller David Beckham. In foot ball wag culture is much more advanced then in cricket. It may be because cricket is still a gentleman's game. But cricket do have its share of glam women who are have been the Wives and Girlfriends of our beloved cricketers. I have come across a beautiful collection of cricketer wags at the AOL uk site.

http://sport.aol.co.uk/enhPhotoGalleryPollPopup.adp?country=uk&popupgalleryid=2108&photoid=13&pause=0

from the same source i have reproduced some pictures.

Let your eyes feast on these beautiful ladies who form the support base of our beloved crivketers once they are out of the cricket field.

jessica bratrich and Mitchell Johnson -->

Some Indian WAGS

Field Positions

Cricket is a game where each part of the ground has a fielding position name. We have square leg, fine leg, short leg, leg slip, leg gully and lot more variety of legs only. We do have the silly's too. Coming to the POINT which again is a fielding position, I have noticed that lot of cricket lovers know the game well but don't know which position is which except for the off and on sides. This is more true with people who have played more gully cricket then on real cricket grounds just because in gully cricket you don't have so much space to place so many fielders. Which is another reason why Indian and pakistani batsmen can play superb straight drives the credit again goes to lack of space.


As i was surfing through the net i came across a beautiful image of the cricket ground with all the fielding positions marked. Here is the image

Familiarise yourself with the various fielding positions.

pic source-wikimedia







On the lighter side here is is an image from nicholson cartoons where some thing similar to gully cricket field positions are there. Have a look and let a smile break in to your lips.







Note- clicking on images will give you a better enlarged view

My Love Cricket!

I have been watching and playing cricket from a very early age. I am so excited about the game that my family and friends call me a nerd who will watch anything on the telly as long as 6 wickets and a ball and bat are there no matter who is wielding the bat or who is hurling the ball. I confess to having watched even an inconsequential domestic match which could have bored the most cricket enthusiast person to death. As i mentioned earlier i watch the game for it's pure art and not for which country will thrash the other country. Every ball in cricket is a ballet played on the field. Till the last ball is bowled its not over. The excitement that runs anywhere from 5 days to 3 1/2 hours is simply awesome to my heart soul and of course my brain. Oft repeated but quite apt here
I eat Cricket
I sleep Cricket
I live Cricket